Besedilo (Lyrics)
Celotno besedilo pesmi »Prstki« z angleškim prevodom.
Palček pravi - jejmo, jejmo, kazalček pravi - pijmo, pijmo, sredinček pravi - ja samo kje dobimo? prstanček pravi - mamici v skrinjici vzemimo, mezinček pa je iz zibke gledal, pa vse mamici povedal. tititi mezinček ti, ker si mamici povedal.
#English translation
The thumb says — let's eat, let's eat, the index finger says — let's drink, let's drink, the middle finger says — yes, but where do we get it? the ring finger says — let's take it from mummy's chest, but the little finger watched from the cradle and told mummy everything. tut-tut-tut, little finger, you, for telling on mummy!
#Prstki at a glance
- Country of origin
- 🇸🇮 Slovenia
- Sung in
- Slovenian
- Words by
- Traditional
- First known
- Slovenian finger rhyme; author unknown
- Best for ages
- 2–7
- Mood
- playful, traditional
- Last updated
- 25 July 2026
How to sing it
- Touch or wiggle each finger in turn as it "speaks", from the thumb to the little finger.
- Give each finger a different little voice for what it says.
- Wag the little finger on the last line as you tease it: "tut-tut, little finger, for telling on mummy!"
Meaning and origin
This is a Slovenian version of a game found, in one form or another, all over the world: a rhyme played on the five fingers, each of which gets a line. Here they hatch a little scheme. The thumb wants to eat, the index finger to drink; the middle finger asks the sensible question — but where do we get it? — and the ring finger has the naughty answer: let’s take it from mummy’s chest. The plot is foiled by the smallest finger, who was watching all along from the cradle and promptly tells mummy everything.
The last line turns fondly on that little tattletale — tut-tut, little finger, for telling on mummy! — half-scolding, half-affectionate. Beneath the joke it does the useful work every finger rhyme does: it names and moves the fingers one at a time, and gives a small child a tiny drama to follow along their own hand. It is a traditional Slovenian finger rhyme with no recorded author, handed down in nurseries with the usual small variations.
Common questions
- How do you play "Prstki"?
- As a finger rhyme. You take the fingers one by one and give each a line: the thumb says "let's eat", the index finger "let's drink", the middle finger asks "but where do we get it?", the ring finger says "let's take it from mummy's chest" — and the little finger, who was watching from the cradle, tells mummy everything. The last line teases the little tattletale.
- What is "Prstki" good for?
- Naming and moving the fingers one at a time, and a little lesson wrapped in a joke — the greedy plan is foiled by the honest (or telltale) littlest finger. It belongs to the same family as finger rhymes found in many languages.
- Who wrote "Prstki"?
- No author is recorded; it is a traditional Slovenian finger rhyme, passed on in nurseries with small variations.
