by
Anne Hunter (1742 - 1821)
The Dairy‑House
Language: English
Available translation(s): FRE
A spreading hawthorn shades the seat
Where I have fix'd my cool retreat;
And when the spring, with sunny show'rs,
Expands the leaves, and paints the flow'rs,
A thousands shrubs around it bloom,
And fill the air with wild perfume;
The light winds through the branches sigh,
And limpid rills run tinkling by.
There, by the twilight dimly seen,
The fairies dance upon the green,
And as they glide in airy ring,
The beetle plies his drowsy wing;
And watching'till the day retires,
The glow worm lights her elfin fires;
While Mab, who guards my milky store,
Her cream bowl finds before the door.
The grateful Fay! she is so kind
No caterpillar there you find,
No creeping thing, nor wasp, nor fly
The lattic'd windows dare come night;
No long legg'd Spinner nightly weaves
Her flimsy web beneath the eaves;
But clean and neat, as by a charm,
The fairies keep my dairy farm.
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "La laiterie", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Georg Pertz) , "Die Meierei"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2005-01-17
Line count: 24
Word count: 155
La laiterie
Language: French (Français)  after the English
Une aubépine qui se déploie met à l'ombre le siège
où j'ai fixé ma retraite tranquille ;
et quand le printemps, avec ses giboulées,
développe les feuilles, et peint les fleurs,
des arbrisseaux par milliers fleurissent,
et remplissent l'air de parfum sauvage ;
les souffles de la lumière soupirent à travers les branches,
et des rus limpides coulent en tintant.
Là, vues indistinctement dans le crépuscule,
Les fées dansent sur l'herbe,
Et comme elles flottent en un anneau impalpable,
Le scarabée joue de son aile somnolente ;
Et faisant le guet jusqu'à ce que le jour se retire,
Le ver luisant allume ses feux de lutin
Pendant que Mab, qui garde ma laiterie,
Trouve son bol de crème devant la porte.
Merci à la fée ! Elle est si gentille
Aucune chenille vous ne trouverez là,
Aucune chose rampante, aucune guêpe, aucune mouche
N'osent approcher les fenêtres grillagées ;
Aucune araignée aux longues pattes ne tisse de nuit
Sa toile légère sous les avancées de toit ;
Mais propre et nette, comme par enchantement,
Les fées gardent ma laiterie.
Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2008 by Guy Laffaille, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
This text was added to the website: 2008-04-11
Line count: 24
Word count: 179