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«Ты прилетел из города, - какие, скажи, там слухи носятся о нас?» (Скворца кукушка спрашивала раз). «Что жители толкуют городские хоть например, о песнях соловья? Интересуюсь этим очень я.» «Весь город он приводит в восхищенье, когда в саду его раздастся трель.» «А жавронок?» «И жаворонка пенье пленяет очень многих.» «Неужель? Ну, а каков их отзыв о дрозде?» «Да хвалят и его, хоть не везде.» «Ещё хочу спросить я, - может статься, и обо мне ты слышал кое-что?» «Вот про тебя, сестрица, так признаться, не говорит решительно никто!» «А! если так, - кукушка возопила, - то о себе, что людям отометить, сама весь век, покуда хватит силы, не перестану я твердить: куку, куку, куку, куку, куку...!»
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Note on TransliterationsAuthorship:
- by Aleksey Nikolayevich Pleshcheyev (1825 - 1893), "Басня" [an adaptation] [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Christian Fürchtegott Gellert (1715 - 1769), "Der Kuckuck"
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840 - 1893), "Кукушка", op. 54 (Шестнадцать песен для детей = Shestnadcat' pesen dlja detej (Sixteen songs for children)) no. 8 (1883), also set in German (Deutsch) [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Hans Schmidt (1854 - 1923) ; composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Andrew Huth) , "The cuckoo", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-03
Line count: 21
Word count: 115
"You have flown in from the town - tell me, what tales are they telling about us there?" (The cuckoo asked the starling.) "For example, what do the people of the town say about the nightingale's songs? I'd be very interested to know." "He brings joy to the whole town when he trills in the gardens." "And the lark?" "The lark's singing captivates many people." "Really? And what about the thrush?" "Yes, they praise him also, but not everywhere." "I also want to ask you, have you heard anything about me?" "Well, to be truthful, sister, nobody mentions you." "Ah, if that is true," said the cuckoo, "to get my revenge on the people I shall sing for a century, if I have the strength. Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Cuckoo! Cuckoo!..."
Authorship:
- Translation from Russian (Русский) to English copyright © by Andrew Huth, (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:
- a text in Russian (Русский) by Aleksey Nikolayevich Pleshcheyev (1825 - 1893), "Басня" [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Christian Fürchtegott Gellert (1715 - 1769), "Der Kuckuck"
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-03
Line count: 21
Word count: 130