11. Kornei Chukovskii.
Tarankanische [The Terrible Cockroach].
Sergeii Chekhonin, illustrator.
Leningrad: Raduga, 1925.
a) Detail from title page.
A cockroach is the villain of this nonsense poem, a classic of twentieth-century
Russian children's literature. It tells how the animals set out to
enjoy themselves picnicking, but were stopped by a cockroach who threatened
them with dire consequences if they dared approach the hill. Not even
the large animals were brave enough to challenge the six-legged tyrant.
But he is defeated ignominiously when a sparrow hops up and swallows
him down whole. During the victory celebration, the elephants
stomp so hard dancing
that the moon must be nailed back up in the sky.
Few translators have rendered Chukovskii's brilliant, inventive verse
into English poetry. But you can find a verse translation at the end
of From
Two to Five,
Chukovskii's fascinating and widely read book about the role of nonsense
in language acquisition.