Anthology of Estonian Traditional Music

There were three of us sisters,

two of us mother's chicks:
one was Maie, the other Kaie,

the third was sweet pretty Elts.
Elts went to mow hay,
Kai went to herd the animals,
Mai was sleeping in the granary.

Elts came from mowing hay,
Kai came from herding the animals,
Mai came out of the granary from where she had been sleeping,
Her apron was red in the front,
a knife was bloody in her hands.
Elts went to ask Mai:
“Dear Mai, what have you done?”

Mai started to protest:
“I slaughtered the spotted ox in the barn,
the black cock from the yard,
the little lamb in the cabin.”
“Dear Mai, what have you done!”

Mai went fleeing into the forest,
Mai ran fleeing into the forest,
she ran to a large fir tree:
“Dear fir tree, help me,
kind fir tree, hide me!”
Fir tree started to protest:
“How can I help you,
underneath I am hollow, at my brow I am broad,
underneath hollow like Alo town,
broad at my brow like Pärnu town.
Ten men live in the village,
nine of them across the fences,
all come here to get logs,
they will find you here.”

Mai ran to a large birch tree:
“Dear birch tree, help me,
kind birch tree, hide me!”
Birch tree started to protest:
“How can I help you,
underneath I am hollow, at my brow I am broad,
underneath hollow like Alo town,
broad at my brow like Pärnu town.
Ten women live in the village,
nine of them across the fences,
all come here to get leafy branches,
they will find you here –
I will be blamed.”

Mai ran to an aspen:
“Dear aspen, help me,
kind aspen, hide me!”
Aspen started to protest:
“How can I help you,
underneath I am hollow, at my brow I am broad,
underneath hollow like Alo town,
broad at my brow like Pärnu town.
Ten boys live in the village,
nine of them across the fences,
all come here to get boards,
they will find you here –
I will be blamed.”

Mai ran onto the fallow pasture:
“May your roots run [dry],
like the blush from my face,
may your leaves tremble,
like my flesh is trembling!”