Page:An Etymological Dictionary of the Norn Language in Shetland Part I.pdf/106

XCVIII or, the introductory word, with which the troll-mother calls to her child, is probably the child’s name, and may be the Norwegian word “hympe”,, clumsy figure; foolish, odd person (R.), piece of meat (Aa.), from “hump”. hympel,, a boy, not full-grown, from hump, piece. “Hympe” in the horn, hoi! (hou!).

A troll legend.

Katta mŏga de li̇̄de lō.

A man found a fiddle-case out of doors and hung it up on the wall of his house. But his wife, who thought it was troll-gear, made him put it back again. Then a voice was heard calling out the above words. The voice was thought to be that of the old troll or troll-wife calling to the child in the fiddle.

The line is no longer intelligible. may, however, be a *kattar mǫgr in sense of troll’s son, as ketta,, cat, tabby, also denotes a troll-wife. mǫgr, son, is found again in the Shetlandic, troll’s son; see Dictionary. “kǫttr” and “kattar sonr” are given in Lex. Poet. (F.J.) as names for a giant: “kattar sonr”, giant’s son.

The Cow-call Verse.

The following is a verse or formula used in calling the cows together:

Kɔmə kɔmə hastə kɔmə so sal du ek skam (skäm) fal·aldəral·də kjø̄ra nepərt nāni læŋsprāli stɩl kɔm ɔu(ə)r mi ʂålma fal·aldəral·də kjø̄ra.

Come, come quickly and you will not get a scolding (shame)! Here follow a couple of cow-names “” (see Dictionary), and. still ower mi. “still” is doubtless the English , still. kom ower, come over here., my white-headed cow,
 * Hjálma.

“”, as a kind of refrain, ending the rhyme, is also found in the middle of the verse, as if to divide it into two parts.

As the Færoese and Icelandic cow-rhymes, corresponding to the Shetlandic verse, end in the words: all the cows are counted (: “þá eru kýr kalls allar”. : “komnar” or “taldar eru kýr okkrar allar”), it is reasonable to assume that the Shetlandic verse has ended similarly, and that “fallalderalde kjøra” is a corruption of an original “taldar eru allar kýrnar”, all the cows are counted. “Taldar allar”, not being understood, would easily become corrupted