Из книги Сказки и стихи Деда Вити

Little Masha and Cock-a-Roachie

Little Masha’s sleeping tight.
Cock-a-Roachie walks at night.
He is looking up for food –
Rotten grapes and mouldy fruit,
Putrid half-decayed tomato,
Stinking cabbage and potato,
And sometimes, a chunk of meat
Little Masha hadn’t eat.
Roachie’s walking barefoot,
Doesn’t wear any boot.
All his legs are very muddy.
He’s a pretty sloppy buddy.
Everywhere he leaves his tracks,
‘Cause he never cleans his legs!
Dirty, nasty, barefoot –
Cock-a-Roachie walks on food.
Once he’s crawling on the cake –
Children have a stomach-ache.
Little Masha is well-bred.
She would never step on bread,
Or a piece of tasty meat,
Though Masha’s feet are neat.
In the house, we believe
Harmful insects cannot live!
All cockroaches are the same,
And to know them is a shame!

© Виталий Гостинский «Про девочку Машу и
Таракашу», 2004
© Victor Krupnik, translation from Russian, 2005