Prevod

(Certain literary callings have a dress of their own, in which many parade a talent they do not possess.) Though dressed in silk, a Monkey will remain a monkey still. So runs the saying; I shall say it here as well, And thus you shall see it 5 In fable and in proverb. A suit of many colours, Like those of matachín dancers, A certain Monkey donned; Though I am more inclined to think 10 Her master must have dressed her, Since she would have been hard put To find both cloth and tailor. The proverb says so: let it pass. Finding herself so finely dressed, 15 She leapt out through a window Onto a neighbour’s roof, And from there took the road Back home to Tetuán. The proverb says nothing of this, 20 But the tale is told in a history That scarcely anyone remembers, Its author being most obscure (And to bring the facts to light Must have cost him no small trouble). 25 He never learned, nor have I Been able to discover, Whether the Monkey went by sea Or perhaps took the long way round Across the Isthmus of Suez: 30 What has been established Is that she reached her home at last. There our fine lady found herself In the pleasant company Of so many naked monkeys; 35 And each one greeted her As a person of distinction, Marvelling at her attire, And presuming that great indeed Must be the wisdom, 40 Wit, and sound good sense Of this fashionable creature. They promptly resolved, Nemine discrepante, That their new companion 45 Should be placed in command Of a certain great expedition, Whose purpose was to seek, Throughout that vast country, Provisions for the needs 50 Of the whole monkey troop. (Such is the power of fine clothes!) Their leader, marching With the forces in her charge, Lost not only her way 55 But, worse still, her wits; And her foolish companions Crossed hillsides, Forests, valleys, hills, and plains, Deserts, rivers, and marshes; 60 And by the journey’s end Not one had achieved a thing; Though never in all their lives Had they set out On an expedition whose captain 65 Was stiffer or more splendid. Scarcely a monkey escaped With her life from that venture; And they learned by experience That clothes do not confer wisdom. 70 Yet without going to Tetuán, Here too we shall find Monkeys who, though dressed as scholars, Will remain just what they were before.