Oh, Vania, look at the clowns! They’re grinning from ear to ear. And they’re all painted up, Vania! And they talk like drunks. And that one looks like - no really, Van, Like my brother - same sort of booziness! No, no, just take a look, take a look. No kidding, Van! Listen, Zina, leave your brother alone. No matter what - he’s kin! You’re painted up yourself, smoking like crazy... Look out, I’ll show you! Instead of blabbing, Zin, You go get some booze at the store! What? You won’t? OK, I’ll go. Get out of my way, Zin! Oh, Vania, look at the dwarfs! They’re dressed in jersey, too, not worsted. In our clothing factory No. 5 There’s nobody who could make the like. But all your friends, Van, They’re such riff raff! And they start drinking such crap So early in the morning! Even if they don’t have fancy outfits My friends care for their families. And they drink garbage to save money, Even if they do start in the morning. But you’ve got such friends yourself, Zin, That guy from the tire factory, He actually used to drink gasoline. Remember Zin! Oh Vania, just look at the little parrots! Honest to God, I’ve got to yell! And who’s that in the tee shirt? Van, I want one just like it, myself. At the end of this quarter, right, Van, You’ll make me one like it, won’t you... Whadaya mean "shove off’? "Shove off’ again? That’s not nice, Van! You’d just better shut up. You can kiss the quarterly bonus goodbye. Who sent complaints about me to work? Whadaya mean "no" - I read them. What do you need a tee shirt like that for, Zin? It would just be a shame, Just a waste of cloth. Where’s the money, Zin? Oh, Vania, I’ll die from the little acrobats! Look at how that one spins, the imp! Our Director of Entertainment Jumped just like that in the shop... So you come home, Ivan, And have something to eat - then onto the sofa. Or you yell when you’re not drunk. What’s with you, Van? Zin, you’re asking for trouble. You’re always aiming to hurt someone. I race around all day, Then come home and there you sit. Well, then, Zin, the liquor store beckons. My friends are there, waiting for me. I don’t drink alone, You know... Oho, you gymnast! Ouch, what are you doing, at your age! In the "Swallow" milk bar at work There’s a waitress who likes to do that stuff. And you’ve got friends, Zin, Keep knitting caps for winter. I go out of my mind from just looking At their ugly mugs! What, Van? What about Lilka Fedoseeva, The cashier from CPCR? At the housewarming you kept making up to her. She’s not so bad, is she? But why fight, Van? Better let’s take a vacation to Erivan. Whaddaya mean "shove off’? That’s not nice, Van!
© H. William Tjalsma. Translation, 1982