# Huda mravljica

"Huda mravljica" ("The Fierce Ant") is a comic Slovenian children's song — words by the poet Branko Rudolf, music by Marijan Vodopivec — about a tiny but terrifying ant who smashes a potter's pots and even gobbles up an ox, leaving only the horns.

## At a glance

| | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Slovenia |
| Sung in | Slovenian |
| Words by | Branko Rudolf |
| First known | poem first published 1955 |
| Best for ages | 2–7 |
| Mood | playful, traditional |
| Page | https://littlesongbook.com/songs/huda-mravljica/ |

## Lyrics

### Verse 1 (sl)

Bila je huda mravljica,
šest črnih nog je imela,
je migala, je vohala,
je čisto ponorela.
Bila je huda mravljica,
po trgu je hodila,
lončarju je čez piskre šla,
pa vse mu je pobila.

### Verse 2 (sl)

In kamorkoli je prišla,
so vsi pred njo bežali,
je pokalo, je stokalo,
pod njenimi stopali.

### Verse 3 (sl)

Oj, mravljica požrešnica,
le kaj je naredila!
Še bika je pohrustala,
samo roge pustila.

### Verse 4 (sl)

Seveda to je čisto res,
le kaj se bik šopiri,
šest črnih nog 'ma mravljica,
a bik ima le štiri.

### Verse 5 (sl)

Če slišiš hudo mravljico
po svetu godrnjati,
obrni se in zbeži proč,
kar zmorejo podplati.

### English translation (en)

There was a fierce little ant,
she had six black legs,
she wiggled, she sniffed,
she went completely mad.
There was a fierce little ant,
she walked about the market,
she stormed over the potter's pots
and smashed them all to bits.

And wherever she came,
everyone fled before her;
it cracked and it groaned
beneath her feet.

Oh, the greedy gobbling ant,
whatever did she do!
She even crunched up an ox,
and left only the horns.

Of course this is quite true —
so why does the ox strut about?
The ant has six black legs,
but the ox has only four.

If you hear the fierce ant
grumbling through the world,
turn around and flee away,
as fast as your soles can go.

## Common questions

**What is "Huda mravljica" about?**

A ferociously fierce little ant. She has six black legs, wiggles and sniffs and goes quite mad, storms through the market smashing a potter's pots, makes everyone flee, and — greedy gobbler that she is — even crunches up a whole ox, leaving only the horns. The joke is that this terror of the world is an ant.

**What's the joke at the end?**

A mock-logical one: why does the ox strut about so proudly, when the ant has six black legs and the ox only four? By ant-arithmetic, the tiny ant clearly outranks the ox — so you had better flee if you hear her grumbling by.

**Who wrote "Huda mravljica"?**

The poem is by the Slovenian poet Branko Rudolf, first published in 1955 (in the collection "Zamorček in ladjica"), and it was set to music by the composer Marijan Vodopivec. It has been a popular children's song ever since.

## Sources

- [Wikivir — Huda mravljica (Branko Rudolf)](https://sl.wikisource.org/wiki/Huda_mravljica)