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Carroll, Lewis: Te öreg vagy, apám (You are old, father William in Hungarian)

Portre of Carroll, Lewis
Portre of Kosztolányi Dezső

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You are old, father William (English)

"You are old, father William," the young man said,

"And your hair has become very white;

And yet you incessantly stand on your head -

Do you think, at your age, it is right?

 

"In my youth," father William replied to his son,

"I feared it might injure the brain;

But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none,

Why, I do it again and again."

 

"You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before,

And you have grown most uncommonly fat;

Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door -

Pray what is the reason for that?"

 

"In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks,

"I kept all my limbs very supple

By the use of this ointment - one shilling a box -

Allow me to sell you a couple?"

 

"You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak

For anything tougher than suet;

Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak -

Pray, how did you manage to do it?"

 

"In my youth," said his fater, "I took to the law,

And argued each case with my wife;

And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw,

Has lasted the rest of my life."

 

"You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose

That your eye was as steady as ever;

Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose -

What made you so awfully clever?"

 

"I have answered three questions, and that is enough,"

Said his father. "Don't give yourself airs!

Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff?

Be off, or I'll kick you down stairs.



Uploaded byP. T.
Source of the quotationhttp://theotherpages.org/poems/carrol01.html

Te öreg vagy, apám (Hungarian)

Te öreg vagy, apám, a hajad csupa dér,

minek állsz folyton a fejeden?

Nem száll - kérdi fia - az agyadba a vér?

Nem ártalmas az ily öregen?

 

Ifjan - szól az öreg - bizony féltem is én,

odalesz az eszem, az agyam,

de nem agy, víz van a kobakom fenekén,

csigavér, ne aggódj te, fiam!

 

Te öreg vagy, apám, amint mondtam előbb,

a hasad meg mint két emelet,

hogy vetsz - kérdi fia - itt az ajtó előtt

ilyen óriási bukfenceket?

 

Ifjan - szólt az öreg, rázva szürke haját -

folyton kentem a lábaimat,

egy shillingért adom a kenőcs dobozát,

vegyél, hogy te is fürge maradj!

 

Te öreg vagy, apám, a fogad kiesett,

csak a pépet illene nyelned,

hogy rágsz - kérdi fia -, akkor hogy eszed

meg a csőrt, csontot, kacsamellet?

 

Jogász voltam én egykor - így szól az öreg -,

eleget gyakoroltam a nyelvem,

megvitattam anyáddal minden pörömet,

s számat ily edzettre pereltem.

 

Te öreg vagy, apám, nemigen hiszem én,

hogy úgy látsz ma is, mint valaha.

S lelövöd a legyet a torony tetején!

Hogy vagy ily ügyes? - kérdi fia.

 

Te vigyázz! - felel az. - Kicsordul a pohár,

eleget nyaggattad apádat,

unom a locsogást, ne gyötörj, te szamár,

kotródj ki, mert fültövön váglak!




Uploaded byP. T.
Source of the quotationhttp://mek.niif.hu/00300/00348/html/alice05.htm

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