“One only son hadst thou, whom men call ‘tramp,’
Doubtless a vagabond and worthless scamp—
“When thou didst carry me on river bank,
Why didst thou not see to it that I sank?”
LITTLE PETRUS
(From the Opera “Natalka Poltavka,” by Ivan Kotlarevsky)
Petrus I love, I love so well—
But I’m afraid, afraid to tell.
O the trouble he gives, the little Petrus,
Fair-skinned, with black moustache!