Subject
Jerboa in Ilf and Petrov
From
Date
Body
[In a previous message Alexey referred to тушканчик - jerboa, the
pathetic animal in VN's poem "В зверинце" ("In a Zoo", 1922). -- SES]
From Ilf and Petrov's "The 12 Chairs" (Chapter 22: "Ellochka the
Cannibal"):
Остап сразу понял, как вести себя в светском обществе. Он закрыл глаза и
сделал шаг назад.
- Прекрасный мех! - воскликнул он.
- Шутите! - сказала Эллочка нежно. - Это мексиканский тушкан.
- Быть этого не может. Вас обманули. Вам дали гораздо лучший мех. Это шанхайские
барсы. Ну да! Барсы! Я узнаю их по оттенку. Видите, как мех играет на
солнце!.. Изумруд! Изумруд!
Эллочка сама красила мексиканского тушкана зелёной акварелью, и потому похвала
утреннего посетителя была ей особенно приятна.
Ostap knew at once how he should behave in such high society. He closed
his eyes and took a step backwards. "A beautiful fur!" he exclaimed.
"You're kidding," said Ellochka tenderly. "It's Mexican jerboa."
"It can't be. They made a mistake. You were given a much better
fur.
It's Shanghai leopard. Yes, leopard. I recognize it by the shade. You
see
how it reflects the sun. Just like emerald!"
Ellochka had dyed the Mexican jerboa with green water-colour
herself,
so the morning visitor's praise was particularly pleasing.
There is no such animal as Mexican jerboa (jerboas' habitat is North
Africa and Asia; besides, тушкан doesn't exist at all). But we should
pardon Ellochka whose vocabulary consists of only thirty words (btw.,
note her "шутите", "you're kidding"). Tushkan + pin = Pushkin + tan
Furs are also important in Ada.
Alexey Sklyarenko
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/
pathetic animal in VN's poem "В зверинце" ("In a Zoo", 1922). -- SES]
From Ilf and Petrov's "The 12 Chairs" (Chapter 22: "Ellochka the
Cannibal"):
Остап сразу понял, как вести себя в светском обществе. Он закрыл глаза и
сделал шаг назад.
- Прекрасный мех! - воскликнул он.
- Шутите! - сказала Эллочка нежно. - Это мексиканский тушкан.
- Быть этого не может. Вас обманули. Вам дали гораздо лучший мех. Это шанхайские
барсы. Ну да! Барсы! Я узнаю их по оттенку. Видите, как мех играет на
солнце!.. Изумруд! Изумруд!
Эллочка сама красила мексиканского тушкана зелёной акварелью, и потому похвала
утреннего посетителя была ей особенно приятна.
Ostap knew at once how he should behave in such high society. He closed
his eyes and took a step backwards. "A beautiful fur!" he exclaimed.
"You're kidding," said Ellochka tenderly. "It's Mexican jerboa."
"It can't be. They made a mistake. You were given a much better
fur.
It's Shanghai leopard. Yes, leopard. I recognize it by the shade. You
see
how it reflects the sun. Just like emerald!"
Ellochka had dyed the Mexican jerboa with green water-colour
herself,
so the morning visitor's praise was particularly pleasing.
There is no such animal as Mexican jerboa (jerboas' habitat is North
Africa and Asia; besides, тушкан doesn't exist at all). But we should
pardon Ellochka whose vocabulary consists of only thirty words (btw.,
note her "шутите", "you're kidding"). Tushkan + pin = Pushkin + tan
Furs are also important in Ada.
Alexey Sklyarenko
Search archive with Google:
http://www.google.com/advanced_search?q=site:listserv.ucsb.edu&HL=en
Contact the Editors: mailto:nabokv-l@utk.edu,nabokv-l@holycross.edu
Visit Zembla: http://www.libraries.psu.edu/nabokov/zembla.htm
View Nabokv-L policies: http://web.utk.edu/~sblackwe/EDNote.htm
Visit "Nabokov Online Journal:" http://www.nabokovonline.com
Manage subscription options: http://listserv.ucsb.edu/