What does the donkey bray about?
What does the pig grunt through his snout?
What does the goose mean by a hiss?
Oh, Nurse, if you can tell me this,
I’ll give you such a kiss.

The cockatoo calls “cockatoo,”
The magpie chatters “how d’ye do?”
The jackdaw bids me “go away,”
Cuckoo cries “cuckoo” half the day:
What do the others say?

Sing-Sang XXXV

Was schreit der Esel so allein?
Was grunzt das Warzenschwein?
Was wohl die Gans so fauchen muß?
Weißt, Schwester, du darauf den Schluß,
geb ich dir einen dicken Kuß.

Der Kakadu ruft: „Kakadu“,
die Elster scharrt: „Wie alt bist du?“
Die Dohle pickt mich: „Pick dich wund!“
Kuckuck kuckuht Stund um Stund:
Was tun die anderen kund?

The post Christina Rossetti, What Does the Donkey Bray About? appeared first on Lux autumnalis – Philosophie und Dichtung.