| And another beggar came and stole them away?" | А другой нищий онучи украл... |
| When I had uttered the words of the song, I felt for the first time their mocking meaning, and it seemed to me that my gay uncle was both witty and malicious. | Когда я произнес слова песни, я вдруг и впервые почувствовал ее насмешливый смысл, и мне показалось, что веселый дядя зол и умен. |
| But he, pouring vodka into a glass, said thoughtfully: | Но он, наливая водку в рюмку, задумчиво сказал: |
| "Well, I am getting on in years, and I have made very little of my life. | - Да, пожил я, почудил, а - мало! |
| That song is not mine; it was composed by a teacher in the seminary. What was his name now? He is dead; I have forgotten. | Песня эта - не моя, ее составил один учитель семинарии, как, бишь, его звали, покойника? Забыл. |
| We were great friends. | Жили мы с ним приятелями. |
| He was a bachelor. | Холостой. |
| He died in his sleep, in a fit. | Спился и - помер, обморозился. |
| How many people have gone to sleep that I can remember! It would be hard to count them. | Сколько народу спилось на моей памяти -сосчитать трудно! |
| You don't drink? | Ты не пьешь? |
| That is right; don't! | Не пей, погоди. |
| Do you see your grandfather often? | Дедушку часто видишь? |
| He is not a happy old man. | Невеселый старичок. |
| I believe he is going out of his mind." | С ума будто сходит. |
| After a few drinks he became more lively, held him-self up, looked younger, and began to speak with more animation. | Выпив, он оживился, расправился, помолодел и стал говорить бойчее. |
| I asked him for the story of the convicts. | Я спросил его про историю с арестантами. |
| "You heard about it?" he inquired, and with a glance around, and lowering his voice, he said: | - Ты слышал? - осведомился он, оглянувшись, и, понизив голос, заговорил: |
| "What about the convicts? | - Что ж, арестанты? |
| I was not their judge, you know; I saw them merely as human creatures, and I said: 'Brothers, let us live together in harmony, let us live happily! There is a song,' I said, 'which runs like this: | Я ведь не судья им. Вижу - люди, как люди, и говорю: братцы, давайте жить дружно, давайте весело жить; есть, говорю, такая песня: |
| "Imprisonment to happiness is no bar. | Судьба веселью не помеха! |
| Let them do with us as they will! | Пускай она в дугу нас гнет, |
| Still we shall live for sake of laughter, He is a fool who lives otherwise." | Мы будем жить для ради смеха, Дурак, кто иначе живет!.. |
| He laughed, glanced out of the window on the darkening causeway, and continued, smoothing his whis - kers: | Он засмеялся, взглянул в окно на потемневший овраг, уставленный по дну торговыми ларями, и продолжал, поправляя усы: |
| "Of course they were dull in that prison, and as soon as the roll-call was over, they came to me. We had vodka and dainties, sometimes provided by me, sometimes by themselves. | - Они, конешно, рады, скучно в тюрьме-то. Ну, вот, кончим проверку, сейчас - ко мне; водка, закуска; когда - от меня, когда - от них, и закачалась, заиграла матушка Русь! |
