The Unfortunate Merchants
The Bat and the Seagull, suddenly,Took it into their heads to become merchants, just the two of them.
The fliers hold a conversation
And strike a deal.
But here's the trouble: not a penny to their name—
After all, it's a disgrace for a trader—
They rush to Shyp in haste.
And, having given a promissory note,
And having calculated
The interest on the sum he lent,
They take a hefty capital.
The Bat guarded the house like a watchman,
While the Seagull took the money,
Boarded a ship, and amidst the waves
Sailed to Msyr, to Chinmachin,
And to Farsistan,
And to Indostan.
There, having loaded the ship with goods,
She sails again by sea,
Joyfully heading home!
Here are expensive shawls,
Here are pearls, rubies, and emeralds,
Pistachios, dates, almonds—
I can't list it all, alas...
Everything, everything that caught her eye,
From jewels to sweets.
But a terrible storm
Rose on the sea.
The goods were swept away by the tempest,
And the Seagull barely saved her life,
Protected by fate.
But how will she return home?
What will she tell her creditor?
How will she face her friend?
There, at the threshold, the Bat sits,
There, on the road, the Bat gazes,
Counting the days: when, oh when
Will our trader return home?
She waits long
And grieves,
Seeing dreams, trembling in fear,
That the time of payment is near...
And now Shyp stands on the roof,
With a promissory note in hand, shouting:
"Hey, what are you up to, friends?
Have you forgotten how I helped you?
Dealers, living it up,
It's time to make the payment!
If you gave a note—know the term,
Shamelessness—isn't that a vice!
This is robbery in broad daylight,
This is ruin for me!
To give away your own gold
And not be able to take it back?!
Try to help here,
Not to drive the petitioner away!"
So Shyp shouted throughout the quarter,
Angrily scolding the debtors.
And those who heard,
Repeated:
"Oh, Bat! Oh, Seagull! Oh, oh, oh!
Aren't you ashamed to hear this? Oh, oh!..
Merchants just recently,
And suddenly—such disgrace in business!
The Bat and the Seagull, oh—
Oh, oh, oh, oh!"
And the Bat—listen!
Where can she go
From shame?
She cursed, cried, swore:
"Ah, Seagull, may you die!
May you rot underground!
What have you done to me?
You've disgraced me, oh, so much!.."
And again, and again, the Bat pleaded:
"Shyp, don't be angry,
Don't rush.
You've waited long. Wait a little more.
Yesterday a letter came that the Seagull
Set off on her journey. Well, any moment now
We'll settle with you,
Adding a bit extra..."
"No, no, I need nothing,
I'll take only what I gave you,
I've calculated the interest.
You set the term yourselves—
Please pay, as it has expired,
Anything extra is of no use to me..."
"No, sir,
Only one calculation:
We'll pay you in full.
The interest aside—
And gratitude will follow,
Believe me... We're people... No lies...
One must forget God
To act so dishonestly."
The poor thing—this way, the poor thing—that way...
She can't justify herself!
And she lied to the creditor,
Still waiting for her friend.
The treacherous Seagull is nowhere to be found.
"What a misfortune! The world is not sweet to me!
Here's misfortune, here's trouble,
I'm disgraced forever:
I can't escape, as if from fire,
From debt. Who will save me?
What can I say?
What can I expect?"
She had to gather everything from the house
And give it all away, down to the last thread.
But what's the use?—
The debt remained.
Well, then it became too much for her,
She flew away on her wings,
Disappeared, vanished, so that she—
A bankrupt, the poorest of all—
Would not appear in disgrace
Before the creditor's stern gaze.
Since then, driven by shame,
She no longer flies by day.
When night falls in silence,
Our Bat flies—
In the dark, it's easier for her to hide
From the creditor and friends.
And the Seagull... ah,
Cries in the waves,
Now diving,
Now surfacing again,
All trembling
And still searching:
Perhaps in the depths of the waters
She'll find the goods!
And Shyp, out of resentment and anguish,
Keeps sharpening his claws angrily,
And if someone passes by—
He grabs them by the hem,
Shouting: "Hey, haven't you seen, listen,
The shameless ones—the Seagull or the Bat?"
...Those days have passed. The days go by.
But still, they have not met.
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