The Sagacious Woody

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Behold! The old beardy hunches over his pot – He licks up, in broad daylight, his damp woods stewed hot! He shakes his head, keeps muttering hymns like a mage – From his ways, you would think he’s no less than a sage! Blabbers all day long – you’d wonder from where they stem – “The sky’s full of cobwebs, so woods have holes in them.” He raises his bald head and beads of sweat run down, “Nobody can fathom its gravity –” he’d frown, “These foolish dunderheads, to such matters purblind, Don’t seem to take in – always wrangling in their mind. Which wood has more essence – blind to facts such simple – Why on eleventh lunar days, woods get dimple.” Scribbled around all o’er, in fact, is his account Of cracked woods and notched woods – he loses not a count! Which hole tastes delicious, and which hole’s insipid, Which crack gives off fragrance, and which one smells horrid. Clunk! Clank! Clackety-rattle! He knocks wood with wood, And says, “I know which wood in what way gets subdued. Paying a
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Freaky Farrago!

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When duck was porcupine (grammar I disobey),
It then turned Duckupine, I know not in what way!

 "Behold! Thou tortoise," exclaims the stork with all glee,
"With us as the Stortoise, really unique are we!"

 The parrot-faced lizard felt rather uneasy—
Leaving bugs to eat just chili made him queasy.

 God knows what treacherous plot the goat had in mind,
It chased the scorpion, got their head'n'torso combined!

 Wandering in fields, giraffe, weary, felt as crass,
Now with wings of Dragonfly, it could fly o'er grass.

In panic was the cow – "What a gruesome blunder! 
Why a wild rooster is on my back, I wonder."

 The Elewhale felt terrible and rather grim—
While Ele yearns for jungle the whale craves to swim!

 Hornet mourns, "I've no horns," now merges with a deer,
Now pleased, the horned hornet has no more gripe or fear.

(Bengali original: Khichuri)
Translation by: Arkajyoti Banerjee
[Note: The Bengali original, the final couplet has the animal 'shingho'(lion) and the word shing(horn) is contained in it. However, in English, a direct translation of 'lion without horns' would not be so humorous, as the word 'horn' is not contained in the word 'lion'. So, in order to preserve the humour, I have used the animal 'hornet' instead of lion, as it contains the word 'horn'.]

খিচুড়ি 

হাঁস ছিল, সজারুও, (ব্যাকরণ মানি না),
হয়ে গেল 'হাঁসজারু' কেমনে তা জানি না৷

 বক কহে কচ্ছপে—"বাহবা কি ফুর্তি!
অতি খাসা আমাদের 'বকচ্ছপ মূর্তি'৷"

 টিয়ামুখো গিরগিটি মনে ভারি শঙ্কা—
পোকা ছেড়ে শেষে কিগো খাবে কাঁচা লঙ্কা?

 ছাগলের পেটে ছিল না জানি কি ফন্দি,
চাপিল বিছার ঘাড়ে, ধড়ে মুড়ো সন্ধি!

 জিরাফের সাধ নাই মাঠে–ঘাটে ঘুরিতে,
ফড়িঙের ঢং ধরি সেও চায় উড়িতে৷

 গরু বলে, "আমারেও ধরিল কি ও রোগে?
মোর পিছে লাগে কেন হতভাগা মোরগে?"

 'হাতিমি'র দশা দেখ–তিমি ভাবে জলে যাই
হাতি বলে, "এই বেলা জঙ্গলে চল ভাই৷"

 সিংহের শিং নাই এই বড় কষ্ট—
হরিণের সাথে মিলে শিং হল পষ্ট৷
By Sukumar Ray

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