Frog and Nightingale

In the damp forest, where grass grows in the swamp,
There lived Frog, nothing particularly remarkable.
During the day she croaked with friends near the water,
And at night she slept, as it should be for decent creatures.

But one summer evening, when the warm wind blows,
Which is pleasing to both elephant and grasshopper,
Frog unexpectedly heard magic song of Nightingale,
Which probably flew into the damp thicket by mistake.




Free image from Pixabay



This song struck Frog to the very core of her soul,
She had never known anything like this before in her life,
But now the magic music performed by Nightingale
Awakened in Frog a dormant craving for beauty.

In front of her, as if endless cosmic expanses opened up,
Where galaxies have been spinning for billions of years
And will continue to spinning for the same amount of time,
When we all die and reborn in a new unknown world.

"Dear Nightingale! - said Frog, overcoming excitement. -
The sound of your voice literally changed my life!
Is it possible for you to teach me the same singing,
So that I can open everyone's eyes to everything beautiful?"

"No, - replied Nightingale, - Frog can only croak,
But she can't sing, and never could, and never will."
Nightingale said this and flew away.

"Well... - Frog croaked, - Stars don't shine for everyone,
Someone was born to sing inimitably and fantastically,
But someone was born to catch mosquitoes in swamp.
I will not quote words of Mao Zedong about hundred flowers,
Cause I'm just a simple Frog, you know,
But still, God has a plan for each of us.
Looks like I've got planned hearty dinner right now,
And after that planned a sweet dream. So be it, hallelujah."



The original text was written by me in Russian. I haven't studied English systematically so the translation may not be ideal. The main work was done by Google Translate, I just corrected obvious absurdities, where I noticed them and where I did not confuse them with brilliant insights.