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UCIVILISERET
Oversat af Steffen-Peter Gliese |
UNCIVILIZED
Edmund Vance Cooke (1866-1932)
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Engang
var der en abe, der
Ej brød sig om at klatre
træ'r.
Allig'vel så han dog
sit snit
Til at sige: "Dette træ
er mit.
De mindre aber tænker
ej,
Så nødder skal
de samle mig.
Jeg selv ta'r så den
største sum
For deres privilegium." |
An ancient
ape, once on a time,
Disliked exceedingly to climb,
And so he picked him out a
tree
And said, "Now this belongs
to me.
I have a hunch that monks
are mutts
And I can make them gather
nuts
And bring the bulk of them
to me,
By claiming title to this
tree." |
Han tog
et blad, han tog en kvist
Og skrev sit skøde
ned bevidst.
Det slutted' med en vældig
flom:
"Min ret ved alle aber om."
Da aberne den næste
dag
Kom, stod han ved sit træ
og sa':
"Enhver, der samler nødder
her,
Skal gi' dem til mig - en
og hver.
Så bli'r der noed til
hver især,
Mig tilhører nødden,
skallen jer. |
He took
a green leaf and a reed
And wrote himself a title
deed,
Proclaiming pompously and
slow:
"All monkeys by these presents
know".
Next morning when the monkeys
came
To gather nuts, he made his
claim:
"All monkeys climbing on this
tree
Must bring their gathered
nuts to me,
Cracking the same on equal
shares;
The meats are mine, the shells
are theirs." |
"Med hvad
ret gør du, hvad du gør?"
De troed' han var blevet skør.
"Med denne", sa' han, "prøv
og se,
Det er et skøde på
det træ,
I en præcis juridisk
stil,
Bevidnet af en abe til.
Så det er altså
helt legalt,
Og menn'sker gør det
overalt
I London, Tokyo, New York,
Glengarry, Klamazoo og Cork. |
"But by
what right?" they cried, amazed,
Thinking the ape was surely
crazed
By this", he answered;
"if you'll read
You'll find it is a title
deed,
made in precise and formal
shape
And sworn before a fellow
ape,
Exactly on the legal plan
Used by that wondrous creature,
man,
In London, Tokyo, New York,
Glengarry, Kalamazoo and Cork. |
Mit skøde
er jo, hvad man bru'r,
Et udtryk for en høj
kultur."
"Men," sa' en abe, "du ved
vel,
Du skabte ikke træet
selv."
Men aben svared blot: "Du
tror
Vel ikke ejere laver jord,
Alligevel så skal han
ha'
Som leje næsten alt,
den ga'." |
Unless
my deed is recognized,
It proves you quite uncivilized."
"But", said one monkey, "You
will agree
It was not you who made this
tree."
"Nor", said the ape, serene
and bland,
"Does any owner make his land,
Yet all of its hereditaments
Are his and figure in the
rents. " |
Forundrede
de satte sig,
Og prøved' at forstå,
men nej!
Efter lovens bogstav var
Jo abens ret helt åbenbar.
Men skønt de fatted'
tanken let,
Gav maven ikke ho'det ret. |
The puzzled
monkeys sat about
They could not make the question
out.
Plainly, by precedent and
law,
The ape's procedure showed
no flaw;
And yet, no matter what he
said;
The stomach still denied the
head. |
Da sa'
en abe, der var smart:
"Vi er jo ikke samme art;
Den abe skulle ta' sit skøde
Til menn'sker, som det ej
kan støde.
Vi aber kender mere til
At samle nødder, hvor
vi vil,
Og vi ved også, det
er det rette,
At dem, der samler, kan blive
mætte.
Så sig til ham der den
kulturelle,
At her kan menneskelov ej
gælde."
Så aber samler stadig
ind,
Fordi de har så dumme
sind,
De spiser også pr. natur,
Der's nødder, uden
spor kultur. |
Up spoke
one sprightly monkey then:
"Monkeys are monkeys, men
are men;
The ape should try his legal
capers
On men who say respect his
papers.
We don't know deeds; we do
know nuts,
And spite of 'ifs' and 'ands'
and 'buts'
We know who gathers and unmeats
'em,
By monkey practice also eats
'em.
So tell the ape and all his
flunkies
No man tricks can be played
on monkeys"
Thus, apes still climb to
get their food,
Since monkeys' minds are crass
and crude
And monkeys, all so ill-advised,
Still eat their nuts, uncivilized. |
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