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Королевская корова
The Queen’s Cow
Nina Dashevskaya
Translated by Dalia Roshal
One day, a boy asked his mother, “Can you draw a cow for me, please?
This boy’s mother was no ordinary mother. She was a queen! And the boy was no ordinary boy - he was a prince.
“It’s really too bad,” thought the queen, “I thought I could do anything since I'm queen. I can have fireworks going above the castle for three days if I want them. I can start a war with a flick of my finger. I can have a new castle with a moat built for me anywhere in the kingdom. But no matter how hard I try, I just can’t draw a cow. I don’t have that kind of talent. Maybe I can ask the Head Artist of my castle to draw a cow instead of me.”
The queen looked at her son, the prince, and gently adjusted the collar of his shirt. She looked into his stern and serious grey eyes - the eyes of a future king. And she knew she couldn’t let him down, so she decided to draw the cow by herself, in whatever way she could.
The queen sighed and took out a sheet of pink paper that was marked with the royal seal. Then she dipped her golden quill into a golden inkpot and drew something that looked like a suitcase. She gave the suitcase legs that were just lines and a tail that looked like a broom. Then it was time to draw the cow’s face. No matter how hard the queen tried, there was no way she could picture a cow’s face in her mind. But she knew she had to try, so she shook the extra ink off her quill and tried her hardest: two dots for eyes, and a curved line for the mouth. Oh, and the ears! She couldn’t forget the ears. And the cow needed horns, too - it was supposed to be a cow, after all…
The suitcase with the face of a person joyfully swished its broom of a tail from side to side as it chewed on a flower. And it smiled, too - it smiled from ear to ear!
The queen wasn’t happy with her drawing, but what could she do? She shrugged and showed her son her creation.
The boy’s serious expression lifted and he grinned and said, “Mommy, mommy! It’s such a wonderful drawing! It’s exactly what I wanted. I love the way it’s smiling. It looks happy.” And the young prince was so happy that he bounced up and down on one leg, and then danced around the room in ecstasy, spinning around in circles. He was the only person in the castle who was allowed to turn his back to the queen, even for a moment.
The queen looked at him and thought, “That’s him. That’s my boy. The future king - kind, noble, and a fair judge.” And then she looked at her drawing one more time and thought, “No, he’s just kind. He’ll grow up, and he’ll cancel everyone’s taxes, he’ll get rid of the death sentence, he’ll dissolve the army… The entire kingdom will fall and go to the dickens! I should really be stricter with him and with myself…”
And the queen kissed her son on his freckled nose and smiled.
Nina Dashevskaya
Translated by Dalia Roshal
One day, a boy asked his mother, “Can you draw a cow for me, please?
This boy’s mother was no ordinary mother. She was a queen! And the boy was no ordinary boy - he was a prince.
“It’s really too bad,” thought the queen, “I thought I could do anything since I'm queen. I can have fireworks going above the castle for three days if I want them. I can start a war with a flick of my finger. I can have a new castle with a moat built for me anywhere in the kingdom. But no matter how hard I try, I just can’t draw a cow. I don’t have that kind of talent. Maybe I can ask the Head Artist of my castle to draw a cow instead of me.”
The queen looked at her son, the prince, and gently adjusted the collar of his shirt. She looked into his stern and serious grey eyes - the eyes of a future king. And she knew she couldn’t let him down, so she decided to draw the cow by herself, in whatever way she could.
The queen sighed and took out a sheet of pink paper that was marked with the royal seal. Then she dipped her golden quill into a golden inkpot and drew something that looked like a suitcase. She gave the suitcase legs that were just lines and a tail that looked like a broom. Then it was time to draw the cow’s face. No matter how hard the queen tried, there was no way she could picture a cow’s face in her mind. But she knew she had to try, so she shook the extra ink off her quill and tried her hardest: two dots for eyes, and a curved line for the mouth. Oh, and the ears! She couldn’t forget the ears. And the cow needed horns, too - it was supposed to be a cow, after all…
The suitcase with the face of a person joyfully swished its broom of a tail from side to side as it chewed on a flower. And it smiled, too - it smiled from ear to ear!
The queen wasn’t happy with her drawing, but what could she do? She shrugged and showed her son her creation.
The boy’s serious expression lifted and he grinned and said, “Mommy, mommy! It’s such a wonderful drawing! It’s exactly what I wanted. I love the way it’s smiling. It looks happy.” And the young prince was so happy that he bounced up and down on one leg, and then danced around the room in ecstasy, spinning around in circles. He was the only person in the castle who was allowed to turn his back to the queen, even for a moment.
The queen looked at him and thought, “That’s him. That’s my boy. The future king - kind, noble, and a fair judge.” And then she looked at her drawing one more time and thought, “No, he’s just kind. He’ll grow up, and he’ll cancel everyone’s taxes, he’ll get rid of the death sentence, he’ll dissolve the army… The entire kingdom will fall and go to the dickens! I should really be stricter with him and with myself…”
And the queen kissed her son on his freckled nose and smiled.
