Trearherous Marten

               
                (ïåðåâîä Ò.Ñìèðíîâîé íà àíãëèéñêèé ÿçûê ñêàçêè "Êîâàðíàÿ êóíèöà")

               Once upon a time, somewhere in a dense forest
               Or in a light grove there was a mighty oak.
               And it was so old and ancient that nobody
               Could even guess its age.
               A lot of animals and birds settled there without words.
               They made this oak, green and high,               
               Their home and friend forever.

               Inside its trunk the spacious hollows
               Were found for a Woodpecker and a Titmouse.
               And a Magpie and a Crow built
               Their nests in the oak’s crown.
               In the neighbourhood a Squirrel there lived
               And a wise Owl.
               Between the roots, under the oak’s shadow
               A Doe-hare with her children settled.
               And a cheerful Hedge-hog there,
               Built his house, too, next to the house of  Doe-hare.
               And together they lived long and merrily.

               But once upon a time from a neighbouring forest
               A Marten came to visit them.
               The delicious berries and nuts
               Were offered to her at once.
               The cup of sweet dew was poured for her,
               And  everything she wished was brought to her.
               All animals and birds invited the Marten
               To stay with them, at least for a day.
               And everybody liked the Marten and
               Considered it to be a duty
               To invite her - she is such a beauty !
               
               But indignation inside the Marten arose
              “Why to sleep in somebody else’s house?”
               Now she wants to have her own house
               And as soon as possible !
               The Woodpecker, the builder proposed
               To build an excellent hollow with his nose.
               But  the Marten refused
               And was not at all confused,
               She already knew what to do :
               She liked the house of the Squirrel.

               At  midnight she ran into the house of the Squirrel
               Screamed and scared the Squirrel
               And turned her out of her house.
               Then the Marten bolted the door
               Lay on the floor, and fell asleep.

               And when at last the morning came
               All animals saw that things were not the same.
               They saw the Squirrel crying of fear
               And when she described everything
               They were astonished by such an affair.
               They gathered  together and thought and thought,
               How to help the Squirrel : what to do, what ?
               How to deceive the Marten,
               To make her leave the Squirrel’s house.

               Three days and nights had passed
               And so, at last
               The sky was covered with clouds
               And the thunderstorm broke out.
               The javelin of lightning was thrown on the ground
               And it hurt the mighty oak, just inside its crow.
               So, some branches were set on fire.
               All the animals and birds screamed :
               “Help!”, “Fire!”, “Faster!”.
               And joined together in battle against the disaster.

               The Woodpecker pecks the burning branches
               And the Squirrel breaks them and throws on the ground,
               And the Magpie and the Crow bring the ground up to the crow
               In their beaks, and knock the fire down.
               They worked together and at last
               The fire was stopped.
               The animals’ green friend was saved,
               The thunderstorm went far away.

               And the animals didn’t even know
               That treacherous Marten was already out.
               She was scared to death by the fire
               And  jumped out of the hollow with a desire
               To run away.
               But as she went out, she fell onto the ground
               She lost her fur coat in flame,
               And ran away as naked lame.

               And all the animals and birds
               Lived happily inside the oak afterwards.
               They welcomed guests inside their green friend
               But appearance and clothing meant nothing more to them.

                2000year.