A LONG the edges of the wooded height
Walks young Dobush;
Lame in one leg, he on his topir leans
And calls his lads:
“O, ye Legini, O, my boys!
We'll council hold
Whom next are we to rob?
Kooty we must not miss,
Nor overlook Kossiev.
Now sleep, my boys,
Because we rise at dawn;
Dress in a trice, skin postoli put on,
Povoloki of silk. . . .
“Now run, boys—quick!
Snow covers all the paths;
To Dzveenka's house go first,
Where we'll see Stefan's wife.”
“Oi, Dobush! Nay, my lord,
Sure mischief will befall.”
“Don't trouble about me;
Load your good musket with
A double charge—stand by the gate—
I'll to the window go
To see if she still sleeps.”
“My heart, dost thou sleep,
Dost thou hear?
Dost thou wish to receive Dobush?”
“I am not asleep. No. I hear
Each word that you say to me.
I'm working that I may sup—
Stefan is not at home. . . .
The supper's not ready yet,
But 'twill be a splendid one,
And a wonder for all the world.”
“Dost thou sleep, my heart,
Dost thou hear?
Wilt receive Dobush for the night?”
“I sleep not—I hear every word—
I will not let the robber in.”
“Wilt thou open the door, I say?
Dost tell me to storm it then?”
“I give no command to storm
But—open it? No, not I.”
“Let me into the hut—thou fool!
Ere I break open the door.”
“My door is too strong for you—
My locks are of trusty steel.”
“Thy locks will not help thee much
When to them my shoulder I set.”
“The strength of full seven more years
You'll need ere you burst my door.”
Dobush, Dobush pressed hard—
The locks fell in a heap,
And Dobush opened the door,
Just a little opened the door. . . .
And then Dzveenka fired
From the attic where he hid,
He aimed at the heart of Dobush.
Not in the heart fell the blow;
Through shoulders the bright blood burst.
“Dog-catcher! You! Dzveenchuk!
You have eaten me up for her.”
“Why did you woo her? Why
Did you say you were Dobush?
Why tell her all the truth?
Knew you not woman's truth
Is fast-running water's foam?”
The Oprishki came to the hut
But they found Dzveenka was flown.
“Oi! Dobush, our good lord,
Why killed you not the wife?”
“How could I kill her, say,
If I loved her so much?”
“Oi, Dobush, our great lord!
Misfortune's surely here.
Treachery ne'er before
To your Legini came,
But now there's treachery.”
“Legini, Oi! my boys,
Lay me on your topirs,
Carry me down in the Chorna-Hora,
Where the Black Mountains be,
Then cut my body up as fine as poppy seed.
Let not the Germans mock,
Or quarter my body.
“Divide among yourselves the treasure that was ours—
Then singly go away.
But not to rob—
Not to shed human blood;
Blood is not water, mind,
Not meant to be poured down!”
But then the Germans came,
And Dzveenka led them on.
“Oi, Oi, Dobush, our lord,
What woeful fate is ours!
Where shall we winter spend,
Where all the summer days?”
“In Stanislav, my boys,
Yea, at the market-place!
Tortured, while, bound in irons,
Germans shall tear your flesh,
And there you'll sleep for aye.”
Walks young Dobush;
Lame in one leg, he on his topir leans
And calls his lads:
“O, ye Legini, O, my boys!
We'll council hold
Whom next are we to rob?
Kooty we must not miss,
Nor overlook Kossiev.
Now sleep, my boys,
Because we rise at dawn;
Dress in a trice, skin postoli put on,
Povoloki of silk. . . .
“Now run, boys—quick!
Snow covers all the paths;
To Dzveenka's house go first,
Where we'll see Stefan's wife.”
“Oi, Dobush! Nay, my lord,
Sure mischief will befall.”
“Don't trouble about me;
Load your good musket with
A double charge—stand by the gate—
I'll to the window go
To see if she still sleeps.”
“My heart, dost thou sleep,
Dost thou hear?
Dost thou wish to receive Dobush?”
“I am not asleep. No. I hear
Each word that you say to me.
I'm working that I may sup—
Stefan is not at home. . . .
The supper's not ready yet,
But 'twill be a splendid one,
And a wonder for all the world.”
“Dost thou sleep, my heart,
Dost thou hear?
Wilt receive Dobush for the night?”
“I sleep not—I hear every word—
I will not let the robber in.”
“Wilt thou open the door, I say?
Dost tell me to storm it then?”
“I give no command to storm
But—open it? No, not I.”
“Let me into the hut—thou fool!
Ere I break open the door.”
“My door is too strong for you—
My locks are of trusty steel.”
“Thy locks will not help thee much
When to them my shoulder I set.”
“The strength of full seven more years
You'll need ere you burst my door.”
Dobush, Dobush pressed hard—
The locks fell in a heap,
And Dobush opened the door,
Just a little opened the door. . . .
And then Dzveenka fired
From the attic where he hid,
He aimed at the heart of Dobush.
Not in the heart fell the blow;
Through shoulders the bright blood burst.
“Dog-catcher! You! Dzveenchuk!
You have eaten me up for her.”
“Why did you woo her? Why
Did you say you were Dobush?
Why tell her all the truth?
Knew you not woman's truth
Is fast-running water's foam?”
The Oprishki came to the hut
But they found Dzveenka was flown.
“Oi! Dobush, our good lord,
Why killed you not the wife?”
“How could I kill her, say,
If I loved her so much?”
“Oi, Dobush, our great lord!
Misfortune's surely here.
Treachery ne'er before
To your Legini came,
But now there's treachery.”
“Legini, Oi! my boys,
Lay me on your topirs,
Carry me down in the Chorna-Hora,
Where the Black Mountains be,
Then cut my body up as fine as poppy seed.
Let not the Germans mock,
Or quarter my body.
“Divide among yourselves the treasure that was ours—
Then singly go away.
But not to rob—
Not to shed human blood;
Blood is not water, mind,
Not meant to be poured down!”
But then the Germans came,
And Dzveenka led them on.
“Oi, Oi, Dobush, our lord,
What woeful fate is ours!
Where shall we winter spend,
Where all the summer days?”
“In Stanislav, my boys,
Yea, at the market-place!
Tortured, while, bound in irons,
Germans shall tear your flesh,
And there you'll sleep for aye.”