A.Blok, A Little Show-Booth – Translation (Rus.)

By Alexander Alexandrovich Blok

Here’s a little show-booth opened
For gay and nice children.
The boy and girl are looking on
The ladies, the kings, and the devils.
They hear that hellish music
Of howling sorrowful bow.
Then a devil’s caught the little fellow
And the cranberry’s juice’s flown out.

The Boy:
He’ll escape out of the black anger
By the beconimg white hand.
Look: the firing goes from left side…
Do you see there torches? The smokes? And that
Should be really the Queen herself.

The Girl:
Why do you tease me so?
Look, this is the hellish retinue goes…
The Queen even in daytime,
All intertwined with garlands of roses.
And the retinue of sighing knight then
Carry her loop, clanging with swords.
Suddenly the clown’s bent over the stage, crying:
‘Oh, help me! I’m poured with the juice such red!
I’m bandaged with a cloth! I’m headed
With cardboard helmet! In hand
I do have the wooden sword!
Help! ‘

And the boy and the girl began to howl.
Then the little show-booth closed.

July 1905