Ten kittens lived at grandmother's place:
Musy, Anfisa, and Pirate with grace,
Zhorik, Arkady, Birch, and Pilot so bright,
Zayka, Picture, and ginger Mole—what a sight.
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, in a basket she'd known.
With a scarf on her head, in a hurry she'd go,
Out through the doorway, stepping just so.
The kittens sat peacefully, each in their place,
Only purring sounds filled up the space.
And sleeping in the corner, a spider so still,
Not evil at all, their friend by goodwill.
A butterfly only disturbed the peace there,<>Like breaking news floating through air.
A silly thing flew right in through the pane,
What a commotion, what quite a scene!
Ten growing kittens began to jump high,
Each hunter so happy to give it a try.
Our butterfly landed upon the chandelier,
And Arkasha crept up the curtain so near.
And Musy followed, not falling behind,
The butterfly close—what a treasure to find.
All the others found different ways,
Sisters and brothers without any delays.
Some climbed the cupboard, some climbed the shelf.
The grandmother's curtain tore by itself,
And what of the kittens? Crying in the corner they stay,
All from frustration, having started their play?
Not at all! They're hunting with all of their might,
Games and excitement, no guilt in their sight.
But they cannot catch their prey, you see:
A flutter of wings and it flies wild and free.
So the kittens remained in the corner alone,
The butterfly, finishing games it had known,
Hurried back home to its own place so dear,
And decided to stay far away from here,
From the yellow house with so many cats,
Where they misbehave and make such a clatter and spats.
Ten kittens lived at grandmother's place:
Musy, Anfisa, and Pirate with grace,
Zhorik, Arkady, Birch, and Pilot so bright,
Zayka, Picture, and ginger Mole—what a sight.
Now the old woman returned to her home:
"What has happened? Oh my, what a tome!
The shelf is down, the curtain's askew,
Could a robber have played leapfrog here too?
I think I know where this mess came about,
It must have been an elephant, without a doubt!
He frightened my little ones so,
And Koschei the Deathless came with the show!"
The spider in the corner laughed quietly there:
"What an imaginative one! But hush, take care."
"Dear little kitties," whispers the old woman dear,
"You rest now, here's a pillow right here,
You need some fish to recover from stress.
Yes, we can't escape progress, I confess.
How strange it must be, in broad daylight's glow,
That an elephant and Koschei came to show!"
Yes, for a long time the old women sighed,
Sitting on benches, side by side:
"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 will tell that they caused all the fright!
