Zhil-byl korol’ kogda-to, Pri nyom blokha zhila, Blokha…blokha! Miley rodnogo brata ona yemu byla; Blokha …ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Blokha? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! …Blokha! Zovyot korol’ portnogo: “Poslushay ty, churban! Dlya druga dorogogo …Shey! Barkhatny kaftan!” Blokhe kaftan? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Blokhe? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Kaftan? Ha, ha, ha, ha! Blokhe kaftan? Vot v zoloto i barkhat blokha naryazhena,
I polnaya svoboda yey pri dvore dana, Ha, ha!
Ha, ha, ha ,ha, ha! Blokhe! Ha, ha, ha, ha!
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Blokhe!
Korol’ yey san ministra
I s nim zvezdu dayot,
Za neyu i drugiye poshli vse blokhi v khod. Ha, ha!
I samoy koroleve, i freylinam yeyo,
Ot blokh ne stalo mochi
Ne stalo i zhit’ya, Ha, ha!
I tronut-to boyatsa, ne to shtoby ikh bit’.
A my, kto stal kusat’sa, totchas davay dushit’!
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! ……… A Strugusgchikov (?-?) | There was once a king Who kept a flea, a flea…a flea! He loved him dearly, more than his own son: A flea…ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! A flea? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! A flea! So the king called in his tailor: “Listen, you blockhead! For my dear friend, Make a velvet kaftan!” A kaftan for a flea? Ha, ha, For a flea? Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! Kaftan? Ha, ha, ha, ha! A kaftan for a flea? Thus in gold and velvet the flea was dressed
And gained full freedom of the court. Ha, ha!
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! For a flea! Ha, ha, ha, ha!
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! For a flea!
The king promoted him to the post of minister
And gave him a star.
And with him, the others were promoted too. Ha,ha!
But the queen and her courtiers,
Could not endure the fleas
Who made their lives intolerable, Ha, ha!
They were afraid to touch them, or kill them.
But if one of them bites us, we squash it right away!
Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!……… English: M H Rolle |
Musorgsky: Song Cycles
Russian Images, Vol. 1