Книга бессмыслицы

Лир Эдвард

To catch them by the dozens (ловить их = чтобы ловили их дюжинами),

That futile Old Person of Rhodes (несерьезный, пустой).

There was an Old Person of Rhodes,

Who strongly objected to toads;

He paid several cousins,

To catch them by the dozens,

That futile Old Person of Rhodes.

52

There was an Old Man of Peru,

Who watched his wife making a stew (смотрел

за его женой, готовящей тушеное мясо);

But once by mistake (однажды по ошибке),

In a stove she did bake (в печи они испекла),

That unfortunate Man of Peru (несчастного).

There was an Old Man of Peru,

Who watched his wife making a stew;

But once by mistake,

In a stove she did bake,

That unfortunate Man of Peru.

53

There was an Old Man of Melrose,

Who walked on the tips of his toes (ходил на цыпочках);

But they said, 'It ain't pleasant (это не приятно),

To see you at present (видеть Вас сейчас, в настоящее время),

You stupid Old Man of Melrose (глупый).

There was an Old Man of Melrose,

Who walked on the tips of his toes;

But they said, 'It ain't pleasant,

To see you at present,

You stupid Old Man of Melrose.

54

There was a Young Lady of Lucca ([город в Италии]),

Whose lovers completely forsook her (возлюбленные совершенно покинули ее; farsake — покидать, бросать, отвергать);

She ran up a tree (взабралась на дерево),

And said, 'Fiddle-de-dee! (Ерунда! Вздор!)

Which embarassed (что смутило) the people of Lucca.

There was a Young Lady of Lucca,

Whose lovers completely forsook her;

She ran up a tree,

And said, 'Fiddle-de-dee!

Which embarassed the people of Lucca.

55

There was an Old Man of Bohemia (из Богемии = из Чехии),

Whose daughter was christened (дочь нарекли) Euphemia (‘добрая слава’ — греч.),

Till one day, to his grief (пока в один день, к его горю),

She married a thief (она вышла замуж за вора),

Which grieved (что огорчило) that Old Man of Bohemia.

There was an Old Man of Bohemia,

Whose daughter was christened Euphemia,

Till one day, to his grief,

She married a thief,

Which grieved that Old Man of Bohemia.

56

There was an Old Man of Vesuvius,

Who studied the works of Vitruvius (изучал работы Виртувия /по архитектуре/);

When the flames burnt his book (когда языки пламени сожгли его книгу; burn — жечь, обжигать),

To drinking he took (пить он начал, запил),

That morbid Old Man of Vesuvius (болезненный, нездоровый, с отклонениями).

There was an Old Man of Vesuvius,

Who studied the works of Vitruvius;

When the flames burnt his book,

To drinking he took,

That morbid Old Man of Vesuvius.

57

There was an Old Man of Cape Horn (с Мыса Доброй Надежды),

Who wished he had never been born (желал, чтобы он никогда не был рожден);

So he sat on a chair (потому он сидел на стуле),

Till he died of despair (пока не умер от отчаяния),

That dolorous Man of Cape Horn (страдающий, унылый).

There was an Old Man of Cape Horn,

Who wished he had never been born;

So he sat on a chair,

Till he died of despair,

That dolorous Man of Cape Horn.

58

There was an Old Lady whose folly (чье сумасшествие, чья глупость),

Induced her to sit on a holly (побудила ее сидеть на остролисте);

Whereon by a thorn (на котором шипом),

Her dress being torn (ее платье было разорвано; tear— рвать),

She quickly became melancholy (она быстро стала подавленной;become — становиться).

There was an Old Lady whose folly,

Induced her to sit on a holly;

Whereon by a thorn,

Her dress being torn,