Three of Nature's daughters (Luonnotar) were walking
On the shore of the raging sea, at the edge of the ocean's swell,
They saw the [spittle] on the shore and spoke with these words:
"What would become of that
If the Creator gave it life—put eyes in its head by spells?"
Hiisi happened to overhear, the bad man to observe [it all].
He himself began to create, Hiisi gave life to it,
To Syöjätär's spittle—the hideous 'toad's' slaver.
Then it turned into a snake—changed into a black 'worm'.
Variants.
6She combs her head, brushes her hair,
A hair disappeared from the brush, a hair fell into the water.
(e.)
Pain's daughter, girl of Death, fell asleep upon a field,
Threw herself down upon a slope—against the side of a speckled stone.
A great blast of wind came—a bitter tempest from the east,
And made the girl parturient, quickened her into pregnancy.
Then the offspring was born, the evil progeny was yeaned,
A snake began to hiss, a 'red ant' to move about,
A 'worm of the earth' to crawl—to stick a little 'needle'
Into a human being's skin or into a creature's [kave] 'hair'.
(f.)
A tree was growing on holy ground[1]—a reed on undefiled land,
The reed grew up against the tree—the sedge under shelter of [its] moss.
Piru blew into the reed, made the 'ring' clatter.
From it a 'worm' appeared, rather round and rather long,
Then it turned into a 'distaff', twisted into a snake,
Into a crawler on the ground—a wriggler on the path.
(g.)
Black 'worm'! O hissing viper, 'grub' of the hue of Death (Tuoni),
- ↑ Or, in a churchyard.
