Aesop 102: Mercury & the Woodman
Attribution
Translated into Quenya by Luinyelle in 2026. Reviewed for language by Chaered.
Notes
First posted on VL, on 2026-06-01; not reviewed yet.
Motto: Honesty is the best policy.
Also potentially available in Sindarin at: Sindarin crash course
Text
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| No. | Quenya | Tengwar | Means |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mercurius ar Töahto | | Mercury & the Woodman |
| 2 | -- | | -- |
| 3 | 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. |
| Þinyë amna ánië ar i töahto lumba nánë. | | It was late in the day and the Woodman was tired. | |
| 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. | |
| 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 | I töahto estelenca nánë. | | The Woodman was in despair. |
| 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. | |
| 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. | |
| 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. | |
| Yá eneppes, cavanes elmendeä maltaina pelecco quáressë. | | When he came up again he held a wonderful golden axe. | |
| 5 | “Ma sina peleccolya?” maquentë Mercurius i töahtonna. | | "Is this your axe?" Mercury asked the Woodman. |
| 6 | “Lása”, i óripanta töahto hanquentë, “tina lá pelecconya.” | | "No," answered the honest Woodman, "that is not my axe." |
| 7 | 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. |
| 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 | 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 | 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. |
| Mercurius nánë anfasta i töahto óripantiénen. | | Mercury was greatly pleased with the Woodman's honesty. | |
| 10 | “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 | 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. |
| 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. | |
| 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. | |
| Tá nítaneltë ta yaiyar ta yalir Mercuriussen i aþyuvas hin. | | Then they wept and wailed and called on Mercury to help them. | |
| 12 | Ar naitië, Mercurius e nemunë, minyavë anen, neunavë hyanen. | | And indeed, Mercury did appear, first to this one, then to that. |
| 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. | |
| Mal Mercurius vá antanë ten i maltaina pelecco. | | But Mercury did not give them the golden axe. | |
| 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. | |
| 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. | |
| 13 | -- | | -- |
| 14 | Eques: Óripantië carrantion arya. | | Motto: Honesty is the best policy. |
Extra
The translation uses Nessa as the ME localized equivalent of Mercury in this context.