Tütarde tapja (Rõuge)

A mother had many daughters,
she had many little chicks.
She sent five of them to stretch out wool,
six of them to knit cloth,
seven of them to make bed,
eight of them to keep cattle.
What was left after this,
the ones who were left over,
she sent them away to be grouses at the side of the road,
to be ducks at the side of the pine forest,
to be sandpipers at the side of the wasteland,
to be weasels at the side of the greenwood.
Then she started to carry water,
she started to carry root-beer.
A grouse sang from the side of the road,
a duck quacked from the pine forest,
a sandpiper sang from the wasteland,
a weasel sang from the greenland:
“Mother, dearest,
our dear, dear mother,
to whom do you carry this water,
to whom do you carry this root-beer?”
“To your sisters, so they can make cheese,
to my daughters-in-law, so they can bake bread,
to my sons, so they can turn chisels,
to my sons-in-law, so they can sharpen knives.”
Then the mother started to regret,
she was sorry for what she had done,
she started to call the daughters back home,
she started to coax them:
“Come home, my little hens,
come home, my sweet berries!
Your sister will make you a big cheese,
your sister-in-law will bake you a honey-bread.”
“Mother, dearest,
our dear, dear mother,
willow catkins are tastier,
birch branches are sweeter,
than the big cheese of our sisters,
and the honey-bread of our sister-in-law.”