HOW THE RHINOCEROS GOT HIS SKIN

Как у Носорога появилась Его = такая шкура

 

ONCE upon a time (однажды), on an uninhabited island on the shores of the Red Sea (на одном необитаемом острове на берегах Красного Моря), there lived a Parsee (жил да был Парс) from whose hat the rays of the sun were reflected in more-than-oriental splendour (от шляпы которого лучи солнца отражались в более-чем-восточном великолепии). And the Parsee lived by the Red Sea (и этот Парс жил у Красного Моря) with nothing but his hat and his knife and a cooking-stove of the kind (с ничем = без ничего кроме /его/ шляпы, и /его/ ножа, и такой кухонной плиты) that you must particularly never touch (которую тебе особенно нельзя никогда трогать). And one day he took flour and water and currants and plums and sugar and things (и однажды он взял муку, и воду, и смородины, и сливы, и сахар, и прочее), and made himself one cake (и испек себе один пирог) which was two feet across and three feet thick (который был два фута[21] в поперечнике и три фута толщиной). It was indeed a Superior Comestible (это был в самом деле Превосходный Съестной Припас (that’s magic (это волшебство = волшебные слова)), and he put it on the stove (и он поставил его на плиту) because he was allowed to cook on that stove (потому что ему разрешали готовить на этой плите), and he baked it(и он стал печь его) and he baked it (и он пек его) till it was all done brown and smelt most sentimental (пока он не стал весь коричневый и не стал пахнуть очень чувствительно; to smell — пахнуть). But just as he was going to eat it (но как раз когда он собирался есть его) there came down to the beach from the Altogether Uninhabited Interior one Rhinoceros (на пляж из Совершенно Необитаемой Внутренней Части = Глубины спустился Носорог; to come down — спускаться) with a horn on his nose (с рогом на /его/ носу), two piggy eyes (двумя свинячьими глазками), and few manners (и очень немногими /хорошими/ манерами = и с плохими манерами).

 

island ['aIlqnd], whose [hHz], allow [q'lau]

 

ONCE upon a time, on an uninhabited island on the shores of the Red Sea, there lived a Parsee from whose hat the rays of the sun were reflected in more-than-oriental splendour. And the Parsee lived by the Red Sea with nothing but his hat and his knife and a cooking-stove of the kind that you must particularly never touch. And one day he took flour and water and currants and plums and sugar and things, and made himself one cake which was two feet across and three feet thick. It was indeed a Superior Comestible (that’s magic), and he put it on the stove because he was allowed to cook on that stove, and he baked it and he baked it till it was all done brown and smelt most sentimental. But just as he was going to eat it there came down to the beach from the Altogether Uninhabited Interior one Rhinoceros with a horn on his nose, two piggy eyes, and few manners.

 

In those days the Rhinoceros’s skin fitted him quite tight (в те дни шкура Носорога очень плотно сидела на нем). There were no wrinkles in it anywhere (на ней нигде не было складок). He looked exactly like a Noah’s Ark Rhinoceros (он был похож в точности на Носорога с Ноева Ковчега), but of course much bigger (но конечно /был/ гораздо больше). All the same (тем не менее), he had no manners then (у него тогда не было хороших манер), and he has no manners now (нет у него хороших манер и сейчас), and he never will have any manners (и никогда у него не будет хороших манер). He said, ‘How (он сказал: ау / опа)!’ and the Parsee left that cake (и Парс оставил пирог) and climbed to the top of a palm tree (и взобрался на вершину пальмы) with nothing on but his hat (без ничего кроме /своей/ шляпы), from which the rays of the sun were always reflected in more-than-oriental splendour (от которой лучи солнца всегда отражались в более-чем-восточном великолепии). And the Rhinoceros upset the oil-stove with his nose (а Носорог перевернул керосиновую плитку[22] /своим/ носом), and the cake rolled on the sand (и пирог покатился по песку), and he spiked that cake on the horn of his nose (и он наколол этот пирог на рог своего носа), and he ate it (и он съел его), and he went away (и /он/ ушел), waving his tail (помахивая /своим/ хвостом), to the desolate and Exclusively Uninhabited Interior (в безлюдную и Исключительно Необитаемую Глубину /острова/) which abuts on the islands of Mazanderan, Socotra, and the Promontories of the Larger Equinox (который примыкает к островам Мазандаран, Сокотра и к Мысам Большого Равноденствия). Then the Parsee came down from his palm-tree (тогда Парс спустился с пальмы) and put the stove on its legs (и поставил плитку на /ее/ ножки) and recited the following Sloka (и прочел следующую Слоку), which, as you have not heard (которую, так как вы /ее/ не слышали), I will now proceed to relate (я сейчас расскажу): —

Rhinoceros [raI'nOsqrqs], tight [taIt], abut [q'bAt]

In those days the Rhinoceros’s skin fitted him quite tight. There were no wrinkles in it anywhere. He looked exactly like a Noah’s Ark Rhinoceros, but of course much bigger. All the same, he had no manners then, and he has no manners now, and he never will have any manners. He said, ‘How!’ and the Parsee left that cake and climbed to the top of a palm tree with nothing on but his hat, from which the rays of the sun were always reflected in more-than-oriental splendour. And the Rhinoceros upset the oil-stove with his nose, and the cake rolled on the sand, and he spiked that cake on the horn of his nose, and he ate it, and he went away, waving his tail, to the desolate and Exclusively Uninhabited Interior which abuts on the islands of Mazanderan, Socotra, and the Promontories of the Larger Equinox. Then the Parsee came down from his palm-tree and put the stove on its legs and recited the following Sloka, which, as you have not heard, I will now proceed to relate : —

 

Them that takes cakes (тот, кто забирает пироги)
Which the Parsee-man bakes (которые печет Парс)
Makes dreadful mistakes (совершает ужасные ошибки).

 

And there was a great deal more in that than you would think (и в этом было гораздо больше /смысла/, чем вы могли бы подумать).

 

dreadful ['dredful], deal [dJl], would [wud]

 

Them that takes cakes
Which the Parsee-man bakes
Makes dreadful mistakes.