O Vello e o Sapo
Da aldea lonxana fumegan as tellas
Detrás dos petoutos vai póndose o sol
Retornan prós eidos coa noite as ovellas
Tiscando nas beiras o céspede mol
Un vello, arrimado nun pao de sanguiño
O monte atravesa de cara ó pinar
Vai canso; unha pedra topóu no camiño
E nela sentóuse pra folgos tomar
-¡Ai! -dixo-, ¡qué triste!, ¡qué triste eu estóu!
I on sapo, que oía, repuso
-¡Cro, cro!
¡Ás ánemas tocan!... Tal noite como ésta
Queimóuseme a casa, morréume a muller
Ardéume a xugada na corte, I a besta
Na terra a semente botóuse a perder
Vendín prós trabucos bacelos e hortas
E vou polo mundo de entón a pedir
Mais cando non topo pechadas as portas
Os cans sáienme a elas e fanme fuxir
-Canta, sapo, canta; tí I eu ¡somos dous!
I o sapo choroso, cantaba:
-¡Cro, cro!
Soliños estamos entrambos na terra
Mais nela un buraco tí alcontras I eu non
A ti non te morden os ventos da serra
I a min as entranas I os ósos me rón
Tí, nado nos montes, nos montes esperas
De cote cantando, teu término ver
Eu, nado entre os homes, dormendo entre as feras
E morte non hacho, si quero morrer
-Xa tocan... Recemos, ¡que dicen que hai dios!
El reza, I o sapo cantaba
-¡Cro, cro!
A noite pechaba, I o raio da lúa
Nas lívidas cumes comenza a brillar
Curisco que tolle nos álbores brúa
I escóitase ó lexos o lobo oubear
O probe do vello cos anos cangado
Erguéuse da pedra I o pau recadóu
Viróu para os ceos o puño pechado
E cara ós touzales rosmando marchóu
Cos ollos perdidos o na escura estensión
O sapo quedouse cantando: ¡cro, cro!
¡Cro, cro!
The Old Man and the Toad
From the distant village, the rooftops smoke
Behind the hills, the sun is setting
Sheep return to the fields as night falls
Nibbling on the grassy edges
An old man, leaning on a walking stick
Crosses the mountain towards the pine forest
He's tired; he stumbled upon a rock on the path
And sat down to catch his breath
-Oh! -he said-, how sad!, how sad I am!
And the toad, listening, replied
-Croak, croak!
The souls are tolling!... On a night like this
My house burned down, my wife died
My crops burned in the yard, and the livestock
The seeds in the ground went to waste
I sold my lands, vineyards, and gardens
And now I wander the world begging
But when I find the doors closed
The dogs chase me out and make me flee
-Sing, toad, sing; you and I are two!
And the sorrowful toad sang:
-Croak, croak!
Alone we both are on this earth
But you find a hole in it and I do not
The winds of the mountains don't bite you
But my insides and bones are gnawed
You, born in the mountains, wait in the mountains
Singing by your side, to see your end
I, born among men, sleeping among beasts
And I do not find death, if I want to die
-They toll already... Let's pray, they say there's a god!
He prays, and the toad sang
-Croak, croak!
The night closed in, and the moon's ray
Begins to shine on the pale peaks
A shiver runs through the trees
And in the distance, the wolf's howl is heard
The poor old man, bent with age
Rose from the rock and picked up his stick
He raised his clenched fist to the sky
And marched towards the bushes, muttering
With eyes lost in the dark expanse
The toad remained singing: croak, croak!
Croak, croak!