Ivan Hemnitzer. «Courtyard Dog» Artist Dmitry Mitrokhin Published by I. N. Knebel, 1912
A dog lived with the master in the yard, Living in such contentment and ease, As a monk in a monastery once had lived— But even better, For it lived in freedom.
The neighbor, who visited the lord’s house, Came to love this dog, But he didn’t know how to get her: He didn’t want to ask the lord for her, And considered stealing her a trifle.
«No, I must, ” he muses, „I should act more discreetly, And lure that dog away in a subtle way.“ He doesn’t consider subtle idling to be idleness, And every time, if he went by, He would bring up the dog: He would praise her highly in her own presence, And then begin to complain to the lord That her living conditions with him were poor: „No, my life for her wouldn’t be like this; I wouldn’t eat a scrap of another kind, But I would give it to this dog; I would always sleep with her. But you let her only pick up bones, And she sleeps whenever she pleases!“
Everything the neighbor said, The dog took as the truth, And thought: „What? Maybe it would truly be Better for me there, Even though it is good here… I could try it; And if it’s bad—I can always go back.“
She thought about it, and fled the yard, Running straight to the neighbor. Days passed, then a month, then another, And she hadn’t just received the scrap That the neighbor said He wouldn’t eat himself, but would give to her— And on a holiday, the dog would feast on a bone out of necessity. She slept worse than before, And furthermore, she became more attached. And so it was meant: why did she run away?
Forward, dog, know, when you didn’t yet know, That many know how to lie down gently, And sleep hard. Kind dogs don’t wander from yard to yard, Nor seek goodness for its own sake.
