Agniya Barto
The Skipping-rope

It's spring, it’s spring-time in the air!
Spring days have come along!
The tinkling tram-bells sound like birds
Just breaking into song.

Alive with noisy merriment
Our Moscow is today.
The leaves on trees aren’t dusty yet,
But sticky, fresh, and gay.

The rooks are cawing in the trees,
The lorries rumble past.
It’s spring, it’s spring-time in the street.
Spring days have come at last!

As you walk out into our street,
Take care, be sure to watch your feet!
“One-two-three-four-five-six-seven!”
Girls’ voices ring as small feet beat.

It’s the children from our yard,
It is they your way have barred —
Little champions in skipping.
Skipping, tripping fast and hard.

In the boulevards and gardens
And in every yard and street.
You can hear these merry youngsters,
You can watch their nimble feet,
Spinning, turning,
Skipping, hopping,
Rarely resting.
Seldom stopping.

Little Lida, full of hope,
Comes and takes the skipping-rope.

All the other little girls
Gaily go on skipping —
Why then cannot Lida’s hands
Keep the rope from slipping?

“Lida, Lida, you’re too small!”
“Lida cannot skip at all!”
“Lida’s just a little baby!”
“Let her stop, or she will fall!”

In the corridor next morning
Tiny feet began to stamp,
And the noise awoke a neighbour
Who began to scold the scamp.

He was very, very angry,
More than he had ever been.
“Who is stamping there so early?
What can all this stamping mean?”

Turning, spinning,
Skipping, hopping,
Rarely resting, seldom stopping.
On the spot
And at a run —
Skipping is such jolly fun!
Skipping all along the street,
All the records Lida beats.

Lida's Granny got up also —
“Anyway, it’s time to rise.”
It was all that little Lida
Having skipping exercise.

Lida counts aloud while skipping,
And she does her best, it’s true.
But in fact she has not counted
Any more than up to two.

Lida asks her grandmother
To turn the rope a while:
List a bit more exercise
And then she'll skip a mile.

“Now, my darling,” Granny says,
“I think we’d better stop,
Or else the plaster down below
Will soon begin to drop.”

It’s spring, it’s spring-time in the street,
spring days have come at last!
he rooks are cawing in the trees,
The lorries rumble past.

Alive with noisy merriment
Our Moscow is today.
The leaves on trees aren’t dusty yet,
But sticky, fresh, and gay.
Lida takes the rope once more
As she did the day before.
“Lida, Lida, look at Lida!”
Cry the other little girls,
“Look how good she is at skipping!”
“Look how fast the rope she twirls!”

It’s spring, the spring has come at last,
The spring is in the air!
The elder boys and girls to school
Are going everywhere.

With children’s noisy gaiety
Ring garden, yard and park;
So skip, my Lida, all you like,
Be merry as a lark!

Translated by Dorian Rottenberg