I saw a tiger, he crouched by a wood
and filled a bamboo flute with his sighs;
his ferine forces contracted in waves,
and mocking fires burned in his eyes.
Beside him an elegant maid discoursed
with an elegant tilt to her head:
«Tigers and lions, as everyone knows,
cannot carry a tune,» she said.
Я видел, бабр сидел у рощи
И с улыбкой дышал в ствол свирели.
Ходили, как волны, звериные мощи
И надсмешкой взоры горели.
И с наклоном изящным главы
Ему говорила изящная дева.
Она говорила: «О бабры и львы!
Вам не хватает искусства напева».