Samuil Marshak
The ball

Thumpety,
Jumpety,
Bumpety
Ball,
Rollicky,
Frolicky,
Where do you roll?

Jolly
And round.
Yellow
And blue,
No one can run
Faster than you.

Slappety-
Slap
Against
The wall,
You bounced so nicely.
My pretty ball.

Up
In the air,
Down
On the floor.
Twenty
Or seventy
Times or more.

But then you went rolling
Into the lane;
You scampered away
And won’t come again.

Out
In the garden.
Under the gate;
I called you back,
But it was too late.

A lorry ran over you,
Jumpety ball;
Bang!
You popped,
And that
Was all!

Translated by Dorian Rottenberg