Þumalfingur er mamman
Þumalfingur er mamman
The Thumb is The Mother
Finger Play
Finger Play
(Icelandic)
(English)
Þumalfingur er mamman,
sem var mér vænst og best.
Vísifingur er pabbinn
sem gaf mér rauðan hest.
Langatöng er bróðir
sem býr til falleg gull.
Baugfingur er systir
sem prjónar sokka úr ull.
Litli fingur er barnið
sem leikur að skel
litli pínu anginn sem dafnar svo vel.
Hér er allt fólkið svo fallegt og nett.
Fimm eru í bænum ef talið er rétt.
Ósköp væri gaman hér í þessum heimi,
ef öllum kæmi saman jafn vel og þeim.
The thumb is the mother,
Which to me was the kindest and best one.
The index finger is the father
Who gave me a red horse.
The middle finger is a brother
Who creates beautiful toys*.
The ring finger is a sister
Who knits woolen socks.
The little finger is the child
Who plays with shells,
A little tiny baby that thrives so well.
Here you have them all, so beautiful and neat.
There are five in town if you count correctly.
It would be a lot of fun in this world.
If everyone got along as well as they do.
Notes
*Literally "gold": Gold/gull in the old days was used for precious toys.
Thanks and Acknowledgements
Many thanks to Sigrún Ása Sigmarsdóttir for helping with the translation. Illustration by Monique Palomares.
