In the kingdom of trolls, the main troll And citizen Was, of course, the king himself - Only he alone. It happened that he was really cruel - Often whipped! He was terribly truthful This king. Ten time per hour he got angry Poor king. Every evening he set A new password. He began to beat his subjects To the last. It’s true, he loved the truth Most al all. Maybe somebody will the truth Tell him secretly, But under the cruel king Were no fools. And the king called - what fun! - Competition of buffoons: Who makes faces most successfully Money or stof. What a goal? And in the joke is salt, A quota of truth is there. The king learned the truth Of trivialities. But ever more they writhed Soon were finished! And mournfully ended The competition of the fools.
© Elisabeth Jelinek. Translation, 2018