Текст песни Самуил Маршак - Отчего кошку назвали кошкой

Mongolian folk tale

                  The old man and the old woman
                  There was a black-eyed kitten,
                  Black-eared
                  And white-cheeked,
                  White-bellied
                  And black-faced.

                  The old man and the old woman began to think:
                  - Our black-eared is growing up.
                  We fed him and chanted
                  Only give him the name forgot.

                  Call black-eared
                  "Cloud" -
                  Let it be big
                  And the mighty.
                  Above the tree
                  More at home.
                  Let him purr louder than thunder!

                  “No,” said the old woman, thinking, “
                  A cloud is lighter than goose down.
                  The clouds are driving the wind
                  Collects them in gray heaps.

                  The wind blows
                  Long and loud.
                  Do not call us "Wind"
                  A kitten?

                  - No, old woman, -
                  The old man answers, -
                  The wind only shakes the trees
                  But the wall remains at rest.
                  Should I name a kitten
                  The "wall"?

                  The old woman answers the old man:
                  - You lost your hearing in old age!
                  Here listen with me:
                  Do you hear the mouse rustling behind the wall?
                  Sharpening a tree mouse thief ...
                  Shouldn't we call the cat “Mouse”?

                  - No, old woman, -
                  The old man answers, -
                  A cat eats a mouse with a skin.
                  Means cat
                  A little stronger!
                  Shouldn't we call a cat a cat? ..