Ten kittens lived at grandmother's place:
Musy, Anfisa, and Pirate with grace,
Zhorik, Arkady, Birch-tree, and Pilot so fine,
Zayka, Picture, and ginger Mole in a line.
Ten such amusing and playful young cats,
Ten beloved and sweet little brats.
One morning the old woman went to the market alone
To buy some fish, with her shopping bag shown.
A headscarf tied round, off she did go,
Hurrying out through the door, don't you know.
The kittens sat peacefully, each in their place,
Only their purring could be heard in the space.
And sleeping in the corner, a spider so still,
Not wicked at all, their friend by goodwill.
A butterfly only disturbed all the peace,
Like breaking news, it came to increase.
A silly thing flew through the window so wide,
What a spectacle then took place inside!
Ten growing kittens began to leap high,
Each little hunter wanted to try.
The butterfly landed upon the chandelier,
And Arkasha crept up the curtain so near.
And Musy followed, not falling behind,
For the butterfly was close, easy to find.
All the others found different ways,
Brothers and sisters without any delays.
Some climbed the cupboard, some climbed the shelf.
The grandmother's curtain tore by itself,
But what of the kittens? They cried in the corner,
All from frustration, having played as a mourner?
Not at all! They were hunting with glee,
Games and excitement, guilt-free as can be.
But they could never quite catch their prize:
A flutter of wings and away it would fly.
So the kittens were left in the corner alone,
The butterfly, having finished its own,
Hurried back home away from their sight.
And decided to keep a safe distance quite right
From the yellow house where so many cats stay,
Where they make mischief and noise every day.
Ten kittens lived at grandmother's place:
Musy, Anfisa, and Pirate with grace,
Zhorik, Arkady, Birch-tree, and Pilot so fine,
Zayka, Picture, and ginger Mole in a line.
Now the old woman returned to her home:
"What has happened? Oh my, what a tome!
The shelf is lying about, the curtain's askew,
Could a robber have played leapfrog here too?
I think I know where this chaos came from,
It must have been caused by an elephant, some!
He frightened my little ones so,
And Koschei the Deathless came with him, you know!"
The spider in the corner laughed quietly there:
"What a storyteller! But hush, take care."
"My dear little kittens," the old woman said soft,
"You rest now, here's a pillow aloft,
You need to eat fish to recover from stress.
Alas, there's no escaping progress.
How strange that in broad daylight today,
An elephant and Koschei came my way!"
Yes, for a long time afterwards they would sigh,
Old women in headscarves, oh my, oh my:
"It's dangerous to live these days, they say,
How can we protect our kittens' way?
How did they manage to avoid such a plight?"
No one would say they were mischievous sprites!
