Prevod

(To those who buy books only for their bindings.) Yesterday along my street There passed a donkey, More richly decked out Than any I had ever seen. His pack saddle and halter 5 Were both brand-new, With silken fringes Of red and yellow. Tassels and a plume Adorned the little beast, 10 With ribbons, jingling bells, And other finery. And clipped with scissors With painstaking skill, On his neck and flanks 15 Were lovely patterns. It seems his owner, Who, so I am told, Was a Romani horse dealer Of the very shrewdest sort, 20 Sold this precious jewel To a simple fellow; And they say the poor man Paid a small fortune for him. Returning home, 25 He showed his neighbors His splendid purchase; And one of them said: "Let us see, my friend, Whether this little beast 30 Has as fine a body As the clothes he wears." He began to strip away All the ornaments, And beneath the pack saddle, 35 At the very first look, They found the donkey's back Most grievously wounded, With six saddle sores And three swollen lumps, 40 Not to mention two cracks And an old tumor That beneath the girth Had been hidden away. "An ass," said the man, 45 "A greater ass than the donkey Am I, to be so taken With borrowed finery." In truth, this incident I shall not forget, 50 For it fits to perfection A friend of mine Who, for a handsome sum, Has bought himself a book Beautifully bound, 55 But not worth a fig.