Atta Troll then also tells them
Of the wondrous approbation
That he, by his skill in dancing,
Had acquired in ev’ry quarter.
He assured them young and old
Had exultingly admired him,
When he danced upon the market
To the sweet notes of the bagpipe.
In particular the ladies,
Those dear connoisseurs of all things,
Had with vehemence applauded,
And had ogled him with favour.
O the vanity of Artists!
Our old dancing bear with simpers
Calls to mind the time when late he
To the public show’d his talent.
Overcome by self laudation,
He would fain by act exhibit
That he’s no mere boaster only,
But a really first-rate dancer.
From the ground then sudden springs he,
On his hinder paws upstanding,
And, as formerly, he dances
The gavotte, his favourite dance.
Mute, with muzzles gaping open,
The young bears look on with wonder,
While their father in the moonlight
Capers here and there thus strangely.
CAPUT V.
In the cavern, by his young ones,
Sick at heart, upon his back lies
Atta Troll, while thoughtful sucks he
At his paws, and sucks, and growls:
“Mumma, Mumma, swarthy jewel,
“Whom I out of life’s wide ocean
“Once did fish, in life’s wide ocean
“Once again I now have lost thee!