T.S. Eliot. The Old Gumbie Cat

Vaikka Miiru ei vielä mikään vanha olekaan, vaan vetreä kuusivuotias, näin silmieni edessä sen, kun luin T.S. Eliotin runoa The Old Gumbie Cat. Pahoittelut, että runo on tässä englanniksi, mutta huomasin vasta nyt googlaillesani, että Eliotin kirja 'Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats' on suomennettu suomeksi pari vuotta sitten. Heti kun kirjastot taas avataan, aion hakea kirjan luettavakseni, sillä nämä runot ovat hulvattoman hauskoja ja ilmeisestikin käännöksessä on onnistuttu säilyttämään sama hulvattomuus. 

Jos en olisi löytänyt tietoa tuosta suomennoksesta, olisin yrittänyt kääntää tätä suomeksi tähän, mutta nyt saatte nauttia alkuperäisestä, englanninkielisestä versiosta. 

The Old Gumbie Cat

I have a Gumbie Cat in mind, her name in Jennyanydots; 

Her coat is of the tabby kind, with tiger stripes and leopard pots [aivan niin kuin Miirulla]

All day she sits upon the stairs or on the steps or on the mat:

She sits and sits and sits and sits - and that's what makes a Gumbie Cat!

But when the day's hustle and bustle is done, 

Then the Gumbie Cat's work is but hardly begun.

And when all the family's in bed and asleep, 

She tucks up her skirts to the basement to creep. 

She is deeply concerned with the ways of the mice - 

Their behaviour's not good and their manners not nice; 

So when she has got them lined up on the matting, 

She teaches them music, crocheting and tatting. 

I have a Gumbie Cat in mind, her name is Jennyanydots;

Her equal would be hard to find, she likes the warm and sunny spots. 

All day she sits beside the hearth or in the sun or on my hat: 

She sits and sits and sits and sits - and that's what makes a Gumbie Cat!

But when the day's hustle and bustle is done, 

The the Gumbie Cat's work is but hardly begun. 

As she finds that the mice will not ever keep quiet, 

She is sure it is due to irregular diet

And believing that nothing is done without trying, 

She sets to work wither her baking and frying. 

She makes them a mouse-cake of bread and dried peas, 

And a beautiful fry of lean bacon and cheese. 

I have a Gumbie Cat in mind, her name is Jennyanydots; 

The curtain-cord she likes to wind, and tie it into sailor-knots. 

She sits upon the window-sill, or anything that's smooth and flat:

She sits and sits and sits and sits - and that' what makes a Gumbie Cat!

But when the day's hustle and bustle is done, 

The the Gumbie Cat's work is but hardly begun. 

She thinks that the cockroaches just need employment

To prevent them from idle and wanton destroyment. 

So she's formed, from that lot of disorderly louts, 

A troop of well-disciplined helpful boy-scouts, 

With a purpose in life and good deed to do - 

And she's even created a Beetles' Tattoo. 

So for Old Gumbie Cats lets us now give three cheers - 

On whom well-ordered households depend, it appears. 

***

T.S. Eliotin kissarunot ovat Cats-musikaalin perusta.
Kirja, jossa tämäkin runo on, on suomennettu nimellä 'Kissojen kielen kompasanakirja'.