Please, solve a riddle - I hope you won’t fail, (Alice can’t solve it, though she’s bright and bold): What will remain of the fairy tale Right after this tale to children is told? Where would fairies go in the end? Where’s the pipe with its magic falsetto? Ah? Eh... listen, my friend, This is the heart of the matter! Of course, they never melt away, of course, they wouldn’t disappear - Those magic things you heard in tales or witnessed in your dream... They simply move to Wonderland, from now on they’re living here - You’ll see that Wonderland is full with fairies to the brim. Many odd riddles this Wonderland keeps, You may get lost on each path that you step on, Yes, you are brave - but it gives you the creeps If you imagine what can only happen! If on your way an abyss you must jump - Will you? Or are you with fright seized and shattered? Ah? Eh... my little chum, This is the heart of the matter! Both Good and Evil in this land you’ll certainly encounter, But here they are not confused - they carry different flags... A lot of stories gad about this weird magic county And fantasies are running there on graceful fragile legs.                        
 
                       
© George Tokarev. Translation, 2001
Edited by Robert Titterton