"You may devour your chocolate
Without him, as you please;
And for his situation
He does not give a sneeze.
“As for your private holiday,
He does not care a fig,
The Tsar to him is nothing
But a conceited pig.”
Vladimir, after hearing
This villainous retort,
Spat on the marble flooring,
As did his noble court.
He hastened four policemen
At once, for god Perun;
“Go, bring before our mighty throne
That scurrilous poltroon.”
They left, but he recalled them
With a contemptuous cry
“Just leave it till tomorrow
We’re sitting high and dry!
“Let with our gay carousal
No roughneck interfere,
But bring him back tomorrow,
Then we shall pull his ear!
“We need not beg god Perun
To let his thunder loose,
Since we, with shot and cannon
Can lot of noise produce.”
[25]
