Forests, meadows

In the old days, the trees of our forest all spoke, just like the folk song goes: “Long ago in olden times, in times of firs’ clamour and war.” Once, an old man went into the forest to cut down trees. Birch pleaded right away:
    “Don’t cut me down, I can be a tool.”
    Fir said: “Don’t cut me down, I can be a log.”
    Aspen said: “Don’t cut me down, I can be a dugout.”
    Hazelnut said: “Don’t cut me down, I can be a barrel hoop.”
    And so on. In this way, all the trees pleaded not to be felled, and the old man’s tender heart wouldn’t let him cut down a single tree. In the end, the trees got so out of hand that they started giving up all the secrets of things that might be hidden in the forest.
    So, as time passed, the trees even told humans where the Forest King’s treasure was hidden and guided them to it. This enraged the Forest King, and as a consequence, he jumbled up the trees’ language so that no one may understand it anymore, and so the trees cannot plead for their lives when someone wants to cut them down. People do still hear the trees’ rustling, but can no longer understand what they are trying to say. Perhaps they are regretting and lamenting the loss of their beautiful chatter.  

Who is cutting trees in the forest?
    Refr. Birdcherry's trunk, birdcherry's top,
birdcherry's beautiful blossoms.

Mihkel cuts down trees in the forest.
Who's there for the food?
Manni brings food.
"Eat, eat, dear Mihkel."
"I cannot eat, dear Manni."
"Why is that, dear Mihkel?"
"Broken hand, dear Manni."
"I'll wrap it up, dear Mihkel."

The forest and the earth all breathe in the peaceful sleep,
all the world is covered with dark night,
:,: the moon is rising from the edge of heaven,
all the day's work is done. :,: 

A pretty maiden was walking at the woods
with a little child in her arms.
:,:: "Come, child, one last time in my arms,
my bosom will shelter thee no more." :,: 

The maid hurried towards a little house,
she put the baby by the door
:,: and then she hurried with a quick step
into the swift flowing river. :,: 

"Thou are the forbidden fruit of love,
thou bearest the sin of thy parents,
:,:: for when thou wakest out of thy sleep,
my breast shall shelter thee no more." :,:

All I know about Ridassaare is that - my father was 74 years old when he died, and it's been 40 years since he died. - And he told me that Ridassaar and Kääbassaar and all the islands here in this swamp are the result of fire. That here used to be a big forest everywhere. This is proved by the fact that at the shore of the Peipsi lake here, when the wave washes down the shore, there comes out peaty earth, and large burnt stumps of pine. And even I once got a big oak from the meadow, from which I got two steres of wood with burnt trunk. 
Well, that is to say, there was a great forest here, and the islandd in the swamp are the sandhills remained there. The kind that hasn't burned. So there's Palksaar 'Trunk Island', Mikitsaar, Ridassaar 'Row Island', Vaheliksaar 'Between Island', Kääbassaar 'Mound Island'. There were two farms in Kääbassaar in its time and now there is still a house there. 
It was said about Ridassaare, that once in the old days, during the war, so many people were killed, that there was the row of corpses, and so the place became Row Island, my father said.
Kääbassaar also as a result of the war, because there were mounds or burial grounds, that was named after it Mound Island.

Well, I do not know anything else. I once asked, I wrote to the Naturalists' Soeciety, whether it is not in our old books that there was a large forest here. In Pedaspää 'Pine Head' village there probably was a large forest. In far past Estonians might come here from the present Russian area. And they started to build their dwellings here, and when they tied a cow to a tree, they started to make a field, and so soon a village emerged, and was named Pedaspää.