Bear, bear, you ought to be ashamed!
Come out from under that dresser…
What, you don’t love me anymore?
So that’s how things are then,
Running away without asking?
Do you know what you look like?
A sad dog that chased a hedgehog:
All covered in dust,
In spider webs,
With scuffs on his nose…
Like a devil in the woods
They draw in pictures.
I searched the nursery, the kitchen, the pantry…
<italics>She shooke her head and
wiped away tears on her elbow…</italics>
I raced down a corridor—
Here’s a scratch on my lip…
Want some soup? I didn’t eat any—
I saved it all for you.
Fuzzy bear, shaggy bear,
My fluffy darling!
Once upon a time there was a cat, but the mouse
Didn’t play pranks! Hear that, darling?
Apologize. Say: I won’t climb under dressers.
I will buy you a camel
And a green bed….
I will tie my favorite bow
Across your chest:
So cute! You’ll be a dandy—
Just you behave!
What’s that? You don’t like the brush—
But I need it to clean off the dust,
So that soon I’ll be able
To kiss you again.
1916
by Sasha Chernyi, translated from Russian by me.
Come out from under that dresser…
What, you don’t love me anymore?
So that’s how things are then,
Running away without asking?
Do you know what you look like?
A sad dog that chased a hedgehog:
All covered in dust,
In spider webs,
With scuffs on his nose…
Like a devil in the woods
They draw in pictures.
I searched the nursery, the kitchen, the pantry…
<italics>She shooke her head and
wiped away tears on her elbow…</italics>
I raced down a corridor—
Here’s a scratch on my lip…
Want some soup? I didn’t eat any—
I saved it all for you.
Fuzzy bear, shaggy bear,
My fluffy darling!
Once upon a time there was a cat, but the mouse
Didn’t play pranks! Hear that, darling?
Apologize. Say: I won’t climb under dressers.
I will buy you a camel
And a green bed….
I will tie my favorite bow
Across your chest:
So cute! You’ll be a dandy—
Just you behave!
What’s that? You don’t like the brush—
But I need it to clean off the dust,
So that soon I’ll be able
To kiss you again.
1916
by Sasha Chernyi, translated from Russian by me.
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