Simä staräji, buolenäji ji unäji viehogoda kuoluo miengekä travä vo kameneho sien subirajuonti. Volki suonti. Vovasajuonti, se sima ji sienieti. Alie raate lit'iti, se sima jistinenuo ruosnikuon duobiraa ji solaa vätti. Niekotuo kasieti: 'Maahisä egoda pliensuonti ji päjuonti, sielena egoda vami viesna raduostenuo priväto solieti, viedätie jinäji ji samä jidätie.
Sim-ä star-äji, buolen-äji ji un-äji viehogoda kuoluo miengek-ä trav-ä vo kamen-eho sien subiraj-uonti.
Sima-LOC stare-NOM.PL.MASC.NOMIN, buolene-NOM.PL.MASC.NOMIN ji une-NOM.PL.MASC.NOMIN viehogoda kuoluo miengeke-GEN.SG.FEM trava-GEN.SG vo kami-LOC.PL sien subirati-PREs.3PLVolk-i suonti.
Volke-NOM.SG biti-Pres.3SGVovasaj-uonti, se sim-a ji sien-ieti.
Vovasati-PRES.3PL, se sima-NOM.SG te-ACC.PL. gonati-PRES.3SGAlie raat-e lit'i-ti, se sim-a jistinenuo ruosenik-uon duobir-aa ji sol-aa vätti.
Alie raate-NOM.SG lit'iti-3SG., se sima-NOM.SG jistinenuo ruosenika-ACC.SG duobiruo-GEN.SG ji soluo-GEN.SG vätti-PRES.3SGNiekotuo kas-ieti:
Niekotuo kasati-PRES.3PL'Maahis-ä egoda pliens-uonti ji päj-uonti, sielen-a egoda vami viesn-a raduostenuo privät-o sol-ieti, vied-ätie jin-äji ji sam-ä jid-ätie.
Maahise-NOM.PL egoda pliensati-PRES.3PL ji päti-PRES.3PL, sielene-NOM.SG.FEM egoda vi-DAT viesna-NOM.SG raduosteno priväte-ACC.SG solati-3SG.PRES., vietti-IMPER.2PL jine-ACC.PL.NOMIN ji same-NOM.PL jiti-IMPER.2PL
alie but, however biti to be buolene sick duobiruo (n) good (the noun) egoda when gonati drive onwards ji and jine other jistinenuo verily jiti to go kami (m) stone, rock kasati say kuoluo near, by (+ gen) lit'iti to count, also to think, surmise maahise (m) see notes miengeke soft niekotuo someone päti sing pliensati dance priväte (n) greeting raduostenuo happily raate (m) bear ruosenika (f) difference same oneself se that (as in 'He said that...') sielene green sien acc. of reflexive pronoun sima (f) winter sobirati to gather solati send soluo (n) evil (the noun) stare old te he, also 'that (one)' trava (f) grass une young vätti know vi you (pl.) viehogoda always viesna (f) spring (the season) vietti to lead vo in volke (m) wolf vovasati think, believe
- SOV, rather rigid
- Clitics (conjunctions, pronouns) follow Wackernagel's law, i. e. go after the first fully stressed word in the clause
- Pro-drop
- 'wolves' translate actually what I understood as 'greedy beings of winter', and the 'bear' is what seems to say 'he who rips flesh and bones'
- A 'maahise' is a kind of leprechaun, one of the underground folk
- The verb 'gonati' has the stem 'sien-' in the present
- Adjectives marked NOMIN translate as 'the X one(s)', those without this mark are mere atrributes
In winter, the old, the sick and the young gather by the soft grass among the rocks. They are wolves. They think the winter is pursuing them. But the bear believes winter knows the true difference between right and wrong. Someone says: 'When the underground folk dance and sing, when the green spring greets you happily, lead other and go [about] yourselves'.