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Nursery Rhymes
(Детские Рифмы)

See also Milne and Carroll

ЗАГАДКИ

RIDDLES

What God never sees,
What the king seldom sees,
What we see every day;
Read my riddle, I pray.
(An equal)

He went to the wood and caught it.
He sat him down and sought it.
Because he could not find it,
Home with him he brought it.
(Splinter)

Thirty white horses
Upon a red hill,
Now they stamp,
Now they champ,
Now they stand still
(Teeth)

ЛЕДИ ВЛЮБИЛАСЬ

THE LADY IN LOVE

There was a lady loved a swine.
Honey, quoth she,
Pig-hog, wilt you be mine?
Hoogh, quoth he.

I'll build thee a silver sty,
Honey, quoth she,
And in it thou shalt lie.
Hoogh, quoth he.

Pinned with a silver pin
Honey, quoth she,
Tha thou may go out and in.
Hoogh, quoth he.

Wilt thou have e now,
Honey, quoth she,
Speak or my heart will break.
Hoogh, quoth he.

Когда я был мальчишкой

LACK WIT

When I was a little boy
I had but little wit;
'Tis a long time ago,
And I have no more yet.
Nor ever, ever shall,
Until that I die.
For the longer I live,
The more fool am I.

Человечек кривоногий

There was a crooked man
Who walked a crooked mile.
He found a crooked sixpence
Against a crooked stile.
He bought a crooked cat
Which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together
In a crooked little house.

Я видел одну старуху.

I know an old lady, who swallowed a fly,
I don’t know why she swallowed the fly.
Perhaps, she’ll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed a spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
But I don’t know why she swallowed the fly.
Perhaps, she’ll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed a bird.
How absurd to swallow a bird!
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
But I don’t know why she swallowed the fly.
Perhaps, she’ll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed a cat.
Fancy that – to swallow a cat!
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
But I don’t know why she swallowed the fly.
Perhaps, she’ll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed a dog.
What a hog – to swallow a dog!
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
But I don’t know why she swallowed the fly.
Perhaps, she’ll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed a goat
She opened her throat and swallow a goat!
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
But I don’t know why she swallowed the fly.
Perhaps, she’ll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed a cow.
I don’t know how she swallowed the cow.
She swallowed the cow to catch the goat,
She swallowed the goat to catch the dog,
She swallowed the dog to catch the cat,
She swallowed the cat to catch the bird,
She swallowed the bird to catch the spider
That wriggled and jiggled and tickled inside her.
She swallowed the spider to catch the fly,
But I don’t know why she swallowed the fly.
Perhaps, she’ll die.

I know an old lady who swallowed a horse...
“Is she dead?” “Of course.”

© 1998 Elena and Yacov Feldman