Полювання на Снарка
Шрифт:
Тільки де ж вони?! Біс його знає!
Отже слухайте, хлопці, скажу вам ураз
П`ять таких неповторних ознак
Iз страховиськ усіх, щоб не скоїти гріх
Хутко знали ви, що то є Снарк,
Найвiрнiша з ознак – він солодкий на смак
Та не слід його їсти у піст
Він на сонці блищить та бува верещить,
Хоч i є велетенський на зріст.
Він так пізно встає, що вже полудень б`є
Як він тільки чекає сніданку,
I то є
Він куштує наступного ранку.
Він дотепно жартує лиш тричі на рік:
На Різдво, на Великдень i влітку.
Та усі тi слова, що згада він бува
Геть давно повиходили з вжитку.
Вiд суспільних робіт в нього товстий живіт
Каламбури у нього сумні.
В рiдкi вiльнi години він пральні машини
Полюбляє трощить навесні.
Бо їх гуркіт та стук для прогресу наук
На заваді не мусить стояти.
I погорда його вимагає свого.
Серед Снаркiв же слід розрізняти
Спершу саме таких, що плювали на всіх –
Вони голови носять в кишені,
Або інший ще вид, що мігрують на Схід,
Мають владу i гроші шалені,
Отже сильної шкоди за такої погоди
Не спричинять вони нам ніяк.
Та до відома всіх – є Буджум серед них».
Тут ватагу всю взяв переляк.
ОРИГІНАЛ
Lewis Carroll
THE HUNTING OF THE SNARK
An agony in eight fits
Fit the First
The Landing
"Just the place for a Snark!" the Bellman cried,
As he landed his crew with care;
Supporting each man on the top of the tide
By a finger entwined in his hair.
"Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice:
That alone should encourage the crew.
Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice:
What I tell you three times is true."
The crew was complete: it included a Boots —
A maker of Bonnets and Hoods —
A Barrister, brought to arrange their disputes —
And a Broker, to value their goods.
A Billiard-marker, whose skill was immense,
Might perhaps have won more than his share —
But a Banker, engaged at enormous expense,
Had the whole of their cash in his care.
There was also a Beaver, that paced on the deck,
Or would sit making lace in the bow:
And had often (the Bellman said) saved them from wreck,
Though none of the sailors knew how.
There was one who was famed for the number of things
He forgot when he entered the ship:
His umbrella, his watch, all his jewels and rings,
And the clothes he had bought for the trip.
He had forty-two boxes, all carefully packed,
With his name painted clearly on each:
But, since he omitted to mention the fact,
They were all left behind on the beach.
The loss of his clothes hardly mattered, because
He had seven coats on when he came,
With three pairs of boots — but the worst of it was,
He had wholly forgotten his name.
He would answer to "Hi!" or to any loud cry,
Such as "Fry me!" or "Fritter my wig!"
To "What-you-may-call-um!" or "What-was-his-name!"
But especially "Thing-um-a-jig!"
While, for those who preferred a more forcible word,
He had different names from these:
His intimate friends called him "Candle-ends,"
And his enemies "Toasted-cheese."
"His form is ungainly — his intellect small —"
(So the Bellman would often remark)
"But his courage is perfect! And that, after all,
Is the thing that one needs with a Snark."
He would joke with hyenas, returning their stare
With an impudent wag of the head:
And he once went a walk, paw-in-paw, with a bear,
"Just to keep up its spirits," he said.
He came as a Baker: but owned, when too late —
And it drove the poor Bellman half-mad —
He could only bake Bridecake — for which, I may state,
No materials were to be had.
The last of the crew needs especial remark,
Though he looked an incredible dunce:
He had just one idea — but, that one being "Snark,"
The good Bellman engaged him at once.
He came as a Butcher: but gravely declared,