Songs

«Ty priletel iz goroda, -
“You’ve flown in from town, -
kakije, skazhi, tam slukhi nosjatsja o nas?»
Tell us, what they are saying about us there?”
(Skvorca kukushka sprashivala raz).
(The cuckoo asked the starling one day).
«Chto zhiteli tolkujut gorodskije khot'
“What, for instance, do townsfolk
naprimer, o pesnjakh solov'ja?
Make of the nightingale’s songs?
Interesujus' `etim ochen' ja.»
This is of great interest to me.”
«Ves' gorod on privodit v voskhishchen'e,
“The whole town is utterly delighted
kogda v sadu jego razdastsja trel'.»
By the sound of his trilling in the garden.”
«A zhavronok?»
“And the lark?”
«I zhavoronka pen'e plenjajet ochen' mnogikh.»
“Very many are captivated by the lark’s singing too.”
«Neuzhel'? Nu, a kakov ikh otzyv o drozde?»
“You don’t say! Well, what do they make of the thrush?”
«Da khvaljat i jego, khot' ne vezde.»
‘They praise him too, although not everywhere.”
«Jeshchjo khochu sprosit' ja, - mozhet stat'sja,
“I also wanted to ask – did you perhaps
i obo mne ty slyshal koje-chto?»
Hear anything about me at all?”
«Vot pro tebja, sestrica, tak priznat'sja,
“About you, my sister dear, I must admit,
ne govorit reshitel'no nikto!»
No one had anything to say at all!”
«A! jesli tak, - kukushka vozopila, -
“Ah! If that’s how it is”, the cuckoo lamented,
to o sebe, chto ljudjam otomstit',
“I’ll have my revenge on them all,
sama ves' vek, pokuda khvatit sily,
And as long as have strength enough
ne perestanu ja tverdit':
I’ll remind them of who I am by repeating:
kuku, kuku, kuku, kuku, kuku...!»
Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo…!”