Songs

Osyol uvidel Solovya
An Ass espied a Nightingale
I govorit yemu: “Poslushai-ka, druzhishche!
And said to him: “Listen up, my dear,
Tak, skazyvayut, pet velikii masterishche.
They say you’re quite the singer.
Khotel by ochen ya
So I’d rather like
Sam posudit, tvoyo uslyshav penye,
To hear you sing and judge for myself
Veliko l podlinno tvoyo umenye?”
Whether you’re really quite so gifted.”
Tut Solovei yavlyat svoye iskusstvo stal:
So the Nightingale began to display his artistry:
Na tysyachu ladov tyanul, perelivyalsya;
Pouring forth a thousand airs entwined;
To nezhno on oslabeval
First he would sing in delicate diminuendo,
I tomnoi vdaleke svirelyo otdavalsya,
Echoing some languid, far-off reed,
To melkoi drobyu vdrug po roshche rassypalsya.
Then suddenly he would fill the grove with tender trills.
Vnimalo vsyo todga
At that moment, everything hearkened
Lyubimtsu i pevtsu Avrory:
To Aurora’s favourite chorister:
Zatikhli veterki, zamolkli ptichek khory,
The breezes ceased, the birds they all fell silent,
I prelegli stada.
And the herds lay down to rest.
Chut-chut dysha, pastukh im lyubovalsya
Holding his breath, the shepherd listened admiringly
I tolko inogda,
And from time to time, captivated by the Nightingale
Vnimaya Solovyu, pastushke ulybalsya.
would cast a smile at his shepherdess.
Skonchal pevets. Osyol, ustavayas v zemlyu ibom:
The chorister ceased singing. The Ass, his gaze fixed
“Izryadno, – govorit – skazat nelozhno,
intently on the ground, said:
Tebya bez skuki slushat mozhno;
“That’s nice enough, I must admit,
A zhal, shto neznakom
It’s not too dull to hear you sing;
Ty s nashim petukhom;
It’s just a pity you don’t know
Yeshcho by ty bole navostrilsya,
Our Cockerel:
Kogda by u nevo nemnozhko pouchilsya.”
You’d be really rather good,
Uslysha sud takoi, moi bednyi Solovei
If you took a lesson or two from him.”
Vsporkhnul i – poletel za tridevyat polei.
Having heard this verdict, my poor Nightingale
Izbavi Bog i nas ot etakikh sudei.
Took wing and flew away to distant lands.