Chronicles Of A King - 2 Poem by viacheslav kupriyanov

***

The King spends the day in grave distress,
then another day, and another.
The courtiers are asking
what troubles him so much,
and the King answers:
"We need to cheer up Princess Laughnot,
because she won't laugh
at what we laugh at.
Everybody has a carpet,
some have airplanes,
but carpets don't fly in the sky,
and airplanes don't always land softly.
Everyone has what he has for now,
but no one knows what's coming,
so we urgently need a magic tablecloth,
and to get all that in order
we might need a magic cudgel,
for the people, as well as the court.
In short, I suspect we need a fool,
an Ivan-the-Fool who hasn't yet turned entirely into John,
if certain problems are to be solved.'
"Easy-peasy! "
the first courtier exclaims,
and another one, and another,
"If you need me, here I am! "
"No, " the King shakes his crowned head,
"such a fool isn't worth a plugged nickel for me,
I need a fairy-tale fool
who can fish a submarine out of an ice hole
and make it fulfill his peaceful wishes,
and he doesn't have to ride upon an atomic stove,
but I desire something to warm my heart,
and something to cheer everyone up."
"Yeah, it's not easy to find such a fool, "
the first courtier says.
"Can't find such a fool even with a flashlight these days, "
another courtier says.
"No such fools, "
the third one says,
and they say all together,
"We are no such fools,
though wouldn't it be nice if something warmed the heart,
and something cheered everybody up."


Translated from Russian by Dmitri Manin