ents. One of the most popular
of his fables, to which allusion is often made in Russian literature and
conversation, is "Demyan's Fish-Soup." The manner in which the lines are
rhymed in the original is indicated by corresponding figures.

DEMYAN'S FISH-SOUP

"Neighbor, dear, my light! (1)
Eat, I pray thee." (2)
"Neighbor, dear, I'm full to the throat,"--"No matter. (1)
Another little plateful; hearken: (2)
This fish soup, I assure you, is gloriously cooked." (3)
"Three platefuls have I eaten."--"O, stop that, why keep count, (4)
If only you feel like it, (4)
Why, eat and health be yours: eat to the bottom! (3)
What fish-soup! and how rich in fat (3)
As though with amber covered. (3)
Enjoy yourself, dear friend! (5)
Here's tender bream, pluck, a bit of sterlet here!
Just another little spoonful!
Come, urge him, wife!"
In this wise did neighbor Demyan neighbor Foka entertain.
And let him neither breathe nor rest;
But sweat from Foka long had poured in streams.
Yet still another plateful doth he take,
Collects his final strength--and cleans up everything.
"Now, that's the sort of friend I like!"
Demyan did shout: "But I can't bear the stuck-up; come, eat another
plateful, my dear fellow!"
Thereupon, my poor Foka,
Much as he loved fish-soup, yet from such a fate,
In his arms seizing his girdle and his cap--
Rushed madly, quickly home,
And since that day, hath never more set foot in Demyan's house.
Writer, thou art lucky if the real gift thou hast,
But if thou dost not know enough to hold thy peace in time,
And dost not spare thy neighbor's ears,
Then must thou know, that both thy prose and verse,
To all will prove more loathsome than Demyan's fish-soup.

Another good specimen is called:

THE SWAN, THE PIKE, AND THE CRAB

When partners cannot agree, their affair will not work smoothly,
And torment, not business, will be the outcome.
Once on a time, the Swan, the Crab, and the Pike,
Did undertake to haul a loaded cart,
And all three hitched themselves thereto;
They strained their every nerve, but still the cart budged not.
And yet, the load seemed very light for them;
But towards the clouds the Swan did soar,
Backwards the Crab did march,
While the Pike made for the stream.
Which of them was wrong, which right, 'tis not our place to