Ходит, ходит белый кот... ― White cat padding on his paws...

КОЛЫБЕЛЬНАЯ

Ходит, ходит белый кот,
Чешет баки у ворот.
Завтра утром будет снег
Выше крыши, как во сне.
Кот на лапках и с хвостом
И с пушистым животом.
Он не любит молока —
Только снег и облака.
Он по месяцу ходил,
Коготки позолотил,
Лапы вылизать забыл
И по небу наследил.
От звезды и до звезды
Это всё его следы.
А потом он спрыгнул вниз,
Распугал мышей и крыс
И уселся на трубе.
Мы возьмём его к себе.

1991, Лондон

Ирина Ратушинская Irina Ratushinskaya

White cat padding on his paws,
Rubbing whiskers on the doors,
Tomorrow it is bound to snow
And the house roofs high and low
Will be covered to the beam
All in snow, as in a dream.
The cat has paws, a tail, and tum
Like a fluffy little drum,
Drinks no milk but shows his love
For the snow and clouds above.
Over the moon he walked last night,
His claws became all golden bright,
And his pawmarks could be seen,
For he forgot to lick them clean,
Stretched across the sky so far
That they went from star to star
Then he jumped down, and in a trice
Scared to death the rats and mice,
Sat on the chimney, washed his face
And we will take him to our place.

Translated from the Russian by C.J.K. Arkell