# Prišla je miška iz mišnice

"Prišla je miška iz mišnice" is a Slovenian cumulative folk song — a food-chain that grows verse by verse (mouse, cat, fox, wolf, bear, hunter) until, at the end, Death comes and takes the hunter too.

## At a glance

| | |
|---|---|
| Country of origin | Slovenia |
| Sung in | Slovenian |
| Words by | Traditional |
| First known | Slovenian cumulative folk song; author unknown |
| Best for ages | 2–7 |
| Mood | playful, traditional |
| Page | https://littlesongbook.com/songs/prisla-je-miska-iz-misnice/ |

## Lyrics

### Verse 1 (sl)

Prišla je miška iz mišnice,
vzela je pšeničko iz pšeničnice:
miš pšeničko —
pod goro, pod to goro zeleno.

### Verse 2 (sl)

Prišla je mačka iz mačnice,
vzela je miško iz mišnice:
mačka miško,
miš pšeničko —
pod goro, pod to goro zeleno.

### Verse 3 (sl)

Prišla je lisica iz lisičnice,
vzela je mačko iz mačnice:
lisica mačko,
mačka miško,
miš pšeničko —
pod goro, pod to goro zeleno.

### Verse 4 (sl)

Prišel je volk iz volčnice,
vzel je lisico iz lisičnice:
volk lisico,
lisica mačko,
mačka miško,
miš pšeničko —
pod goro, pod to goro zeleno.

### Verse 5 (sl)

Prišel je medved iz medvednice,
vzel je volka iz volčnice:
medved volka,
volk lisico,
lisica mačko,
mačka miško,
miš pšeničko —
pod goro, pod to goro zeleno.

### Verse 6 (sl)

Prišel je lovec iz lovčnice,
vzel je medveda iz medvednice:
lovec medveda,
medved volka,
volk lisico,
lisica mačko,
mačka miško,
miš pšeničko —
pod goro, pod to goro zeleno.

### Verse 7 (sl)

Prišla je smrt iz mrtvašnice,
vzela je lovca iz lovčnice:
smrt je lovca,
lovec medveda,
medved volka,
volk lisico,
lisica mačko,
mačka miško,
miš pšeničko —
pod goro, pod to goro zeleno.

### English translation (en)

A mouse came out of the mouse-hole,
took the wheat from the wheat-store:
the mouse [took] the wheat —
under the mountain, under this green mountain.

A cat came out of the cat-house,
took the mouse from the mouse-hole:
the cat the mouse,
the mouse the wheat —
under the mountain, under this green mountain.

A fox came out of the fox-earth,
took the cat from the cat-house:
the fox the cat, the cat the mouse,
the mouse the wheat —
under the mountain, under this green mountain.

A wolf came out of the wolf-den,
took the fox from the fox-earth:
the wolf the fox, the fox the cat, the cat the mouse,
the mouse the wheat —
under the mountain, under this green mountain.

A bear came out of the bear-den,
took the wolf from the wolf-den:
the bear the wolf, the wolf the fox, the fox the cat, the cat the mouse,
the mouse the wheat —
under the mountain, under this green mountain.

A hunter came out of the hunter's lodge,
took the bear from the bear-den:
the hunter the bear, the bear the wolf, the wolf the fox,
the fox the cat, the cat the mouse, the mouse the wheat —
under the mountain, under this green mountain.

Death came out of the mortuary,
took the hunter from the hunter's lodge:
Death the hunter, the hunter the bear, the bear the wolf, the wolf the fox,
the fox the cat, the cat the mouse, the mouse the wheat —
under the mountain, under this green mountain.

## Common questions

**How does "Prišla je miška iz mišnice" work?**

As a cumulative "chain" song, like "The House That Jack Built". A mouse takes the wheat; then a cat takes the mouse; then a fox takes the cat; a wolf the fox, a bear the wolf, a hunter the bear — and each verse repeats the whole growing chain, always ending "under the mountain, under this green mountain". At the very end, Death comes and takes even the hunter.

**Isn't the ending rather dark?**

It closes the chain in the old folk way, with Death as the one thing that comes for everyone — even the hunter at the top. Presented as the last link in a counting-and-memory game, it reads less as frightening than as the song's neat, final "and then who?" There is no gore; it is a traditional cumulative song, and the fun is in remembering the whole chain.

**Who wrote "Prišla je miška iz mišnice"?**

No author is recorded; it is a Slovenian cumulative folk song, carried down by ear, built on invented rhyming "homes" (mišnica for the mouse, mačnica for the cat, and so on).

## Sources

- [Slovenske narodne pesmi — Prišla je miška iz mišnice](https://narodne-pesmi.si/pesmi/otroske-pesmi-izvedbe/vstani-gor-katrca-3/)