Text: Aesop 102: Mercury & the Woodman

1.0   
Mercurius ar Töahto
Mercury & the Woodman

3.0          
Penya töahto lasteánë ornë ara réna núra lóno tauressë.
A poor Woodman was cutting down a tree near the edge of a deep pool in the forest.

3.1         
Þinyë amna ánië ar i töahto lumba nánë.
It was late in the day and the Woodman was tired.

3.2            
Mótiénes anarórello ar hastaryar láner tandë emecimë ve arinya sana arinessë.
He had been working since sunrise and his strokes were not so sure as they had been early that morning.

3.3             
Sin tullunë sa i pelecco lincë máryalto ar lantanë mir i lóna.
Thus it happened that the axe slipped and flew out of his hands into the pool.

4.0     
I töahto estelenca nánë.
The Woodman was in despair.

4.1                 
Sana pelecco erya aurassa nánë yanen encë sen lauleta, ar pennes fáreä telpë homanciën vinyava.
The axe was all he possessed with which to make a living, and he had not money enough to buy a new one.

4.2                   
Lan táranes, quárala mát ar nítala, i vala Mercurius nemunë ríhavë ar maquentë mana súta hye.
As he stood wringing his hands and weeping, the god Mercury suddenly appeared and asked what the trouble was.

4.3               
I töahto nyarnë mana tulluyénë ar ú pusto hondolauca Mercurius tumbë mir i lóna.
The Woodman told what had happened, and straightway the kind Mercury dived into the pool.

4.4         
Yá eneppes, cavanes elmendeä maltaina pelecco quáressë.
When he came up again he held a wonderful golden axe.

5.0        
<Ma sina peleccolya?> maquentë Mercurius i töahtonna.
"Is this your axe?" Mercury asked the Woodman.

6.0           
<Lása>, i óripanta töahto hanquentë, <tina lá pelecconya.>
"No," answered the honest Woodman, "that is not my axe."

7.0              
Mercurius caitanë i maltaina pelecco i rávanna ar campë ata mir i lóna.
Mercury laid the golden axe on the bank and sprang back into the pool.

7.1                   
Silumë ambatulyanes telpina pelecco, mal i töahto quentë ata sa peleccorya nánë rië senya-ma ó toina mampa.
This time he brought up an axe of silver, but the Woodman declared again that his axe was just an ordinary one with a wooden handle.

8.0              
Mercurius undutumbë nelyallumë, ar yá eppes, cavanes ina pelecco ya a-róvë.
Mercury dived down for the third time, and when he came up again he had the very axe that had been lost.

9.0                
Fastanë lacë i penya töahto ha a-hírië peleccorya ar lá teluvánë hantaitarya i hondolauca valan.
The poor Woodman was very glad that his axe had been found and could not thank the kind god enough.

9.1       
Mercurius nánë anfasta i töahto óripantiénen.
Mercury was greatly pleased with the Woodman's honesty.

10.0                     
<Mírindan óripantiëlya>, eques, <ar paityalénen lertal hepë ilyë peleccor neldë: i maltaina, i telpina, véralya.>
"I admire your honesty," he said, "and as a reward you may have all three axes, the gold and the silver as well as your own."

11.0                  
I alasseä töahto nanwennë mardaryanna ó mainaryar, ar rongo almaresso quenta nánë sinwa illin i opelessë.
The happy Woodman returned to his home with his treasures, and soon the story of his good fortune was known to everybody in the village.

11.1            
San nótimë töahtoli namner sa ecë ten tuhta imya almarë aþcárimávë.
Now there were several Woodmen in the village who believed that they could easily win the same good fortune.

11.2                   
Ronganeltë mir i taurë, anë sinna, hyanë tanna, nurtaner peleccoltar tussassen ar nentaner sa oróviëltet.
They hurried out into the woods, one here, one there, and hiding their axes in the bushes, pretended they had lost them.

11.3           
Tá nítaneltë ta yaiyar ta yalir Mercuriussen i aþyuvas hin.
Then they wept and wailed and called on Mercury to help them.

12.0             
Ar naitië, Mercurius e nemunë, minyavë anen, neunavë hyanen.
And indeed, Mercury did appear, first to this one, then to that.

12.1             
Ilyan apantanes maltaina pelecco ar ilya cannë caira sa nása ita oróviës.
To each one he showed an axe of gold, and each one eagerly claimed it to be the one he had lost.

12.2         
Mal Mercurius vá antanë ten i maltaina pelecco.
But Mercury did not give them the golden axe.

12.3             
Láto! Minomë so, turca palances ilya carenna, ar leltanet mar.
Oh no! Instead he gave them each a hard whack over the head with it and sent them home.

12.4            
Ar yá entuller enar þuriënna vérë peleccoiva, tai vániéner ú runyo.::
And when they returned next day to look for their own axes, they were nowhere to be found.

14.0      
Eques: Óripantië carrantion arya.
Motto: Honesty is the best policy.