Never cut, disturbed or lumbered, Woods beyond the river lie, The unclean there thrived unnumbered, Driving mad the passers-by. Shrieking, filling up the thicket with fright’ning wails, Into brigands turned at midnight there nightingales! Ab-so-lute dread! In the bogs there prospered witches, Served by lizards, snakes and frogs, And a lot of poor creatures Witches drowned in the bogs. There recently vanished a drover In these woods imps were running all over! Ab-so-lute dread! Lots of folks had died in terror In the jaws of awful ghouls, Some would stray to swamps in error, Some were drunk and some were fools. Be you recklessly brave or a coward - All the same you’ll be grabbed and devoured! Ab-so-lute dread! Foreign demons, wild and fierce, Flying speedier than winds, Shifting into highest gears, Came to visit local fiends. In this forest they made an appearance To exchange their evil experience! Ab-so-lute dread! They were led by Dragon - big and Pretty vile, to say the least. Old Nightingale, the brigand, Threw the guests a lavish feast. Served them corpses and some black wizard’s potion, Danced on coffins in a horrid commotion! Ab-so-lute dread! Dragon soon got rather plastered, Climbed a tree and yelled from it: "Bring me girls, you, brigand, bastard, Wanna get a real treat! Let them show me what nobody has seen, Or I’ll rot you in your terrible latrine!" Ab-so-lute dread! Local fiends raised hell about Dragon’threat - the fuss was hot! Ghouls began to twist and shout: "Are we patriots or not? Shall we put up with Dragon’s audacity? Do away with his lustful voracity!" Ab-so-lute dread! And his rage the Brigand showed, Proving he was not a dog, Barked at Dragon: "Hit the road! Leave my highly moral bog! Fly away with your ilk, dirty scoundrel, Or I promise you will hit the ground, pal!" Ab-so-lute dread! Then with garboil, shrieks and rattle The unclean began to fight, And in that historic battle Killed each other overnight! There’s no witch now there, no ogre, And the days of nightmare are over! Evil spirits are dead!                  
© George Tokarev. Translation, 2004
Edited by Robert Titterton