Песни Матушки Гусыни

Жену в дом привел отставной солдат,
  А был он большой весельчак.
«Смотри, говорит, — я не очень богат,
  Зато ты не будешь скучать».

И такое он тут отмочил, что жена

  Три дня подряд хохотала.
И потом каждый день смеялась она,
  И она его обожала.

THE OLD MAN IN THE WOOD

There was an old man who lived in the wood,
  As you may plainly see;
He said he could do as much work in a day
  As his wife could do in three.
‘With all my heart,’ the old woman said,
  ’If that you will allow
Tomorrow you’ll stay at home in my stead,
  And I’ll go drive the plough.

‘But you must milk the tidy cow

  For fear that she go dry,
And you must feed the little pigs
  That are within the sty;
And you must mind the speckled hen
  For fear she lay astray,
And you must reel the spool of yarn
  That I spun yesterday.’

The old woman took a staff in her hand,

  And went to drive the plough;
The old man took a pail in his hand
  And went to milk the cow.
But Tidy hinched and Tidy finched,
  And Tidy broke his nose,
And Tidy gave him such a blow
  That the blood ran down to his toes.

‘High! Tidy! Ho! Tidy! High!

  Tidy! do stand stroll.
If ever I milk you, Tidy, again,
  ’Twill be sore against my will.’
He went to feed the little pigs
  That were within the sty,
He hit his head against the beam,
  And he made the blood to fly.

He went to mind the speckled hen

  For fear she’d lay astray,
And he forgot the spool of yarn
  His wife spun yesterday.
So he swore by the sun, the moon and the stars,
  And the green leaves on the tree,
If his wife didn’t do a day’s work in her life,
  She would never be ruled by he.

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