Season

1001 Winter|            the relentless frosts ~And harried by the whistling winds,
1002 Spring|               Prickus, properly, ~For harrowing not done, lashed well your
1003 Spring|         strong and sturdy plows, ~For harrows sharp and tight and horses
1004 Autumn|           says the teacher speaks too harshly and too loud; ~Another complains
1005 Autumn|             style. ~Then the inviters hasened in with steaming food: ~
1006       | hast
1007 Autumn|           With murder in his eyes, he hastened toward me, ~And if good
1008 Summer|           moan at work, ~Your servant hastily for us brought bracing drinks. ~
1009 Winter|        prosper there whereat you were hatched out, ~And where you learned
1010 Spring|           well-beloved son~Rose up in hate and slew his brother with
1011 Winter|         mendicants -~It is because he hates to give alms to the poor. ~
1012 Winter|              thrown into a sleigh and hauled to be arraigned. ~After
1013 Summer|             hags would draw around my haunted bed ~And slowly creep at
1014 Spring|        northern wrath had wrought its havoc on their home. ~And so they
1015 Autumn|             hoods, and kerchiefs, and headcloths, ~And maidens all adorn
1016 Autumn|            lord and servant, both are headed straight for hell.~The lord,
1017 Spring|          homemade brooms and sticks, ~Headforemost galloping through the high-splashing
1018 Autumn|       eastward moving with ferocious, headlong haste,~And bringing biting
1019 Autumn|             wears but homespun, three heald woven, linen garb, ~Or,
1020 Autumn|             while Docys worked up his healthy appetite,~A fat matchmaker
1021 Winter|            And keep no twigs or chips heaped up on your fireplace,~Nor
1022 Spring|              thouroughly undone, ~And heaps of high-piled snow had dwindled
1023 Spring|            They did not grieve and no heart-breaking tears were shed; ~They all
1024 Autumn|             and tattered mane,~I sigh heart-stricken at the thought of my old
1025 Summer|               mortal can tell all the heartaches of the serfs! ~You know
1026 Autumn|            Plauciunas' soups and pork heartily ate and praised. ~All the
1027 Winter|              And where we later ended hearty summer joys, ~There now
1028 Winter|         blizzards come, you'll need a heated house -~And you'll not like
1029 Spring|             snowy furs; ~The bush and heath were glad to heed the springtime'
1030 Winter|                 Thou, O dear God, our Heavenly Protagonist,~Who countless
1031 Winter|           made his appearance sighing heavily. ~The judges questioned
1032 Summer|           cares, ~When his own family heeds not his words and will? ~
1033 Winter|              better sense, ~Head over heels all rolled out from Plauciunas'
1034 Autumn|              Gryta came with a cut of helicompany;~Selmyke and Berge brought
1035 Winter|            each one of the boors that helped to cart the grain ~Was summarily
1036 Winter|           were no wood to burn and no helpful fire. ~We'd have naught
1037 Summer|          typhus germs twirls down the helpless tots. ~And for the boys
1038 Winter|              things that can ignite. ~Henceforth you must observe these salutary
1039 Summer|             man Bleberis ~Then having herded his mixed herd for a good
1040 Spring|             his four sows to join the herders in the field.~And now you
1041 Spring|              of all your needs?~While herding in his fields, were you
1042 Winter|             They even have no fear of herdsmen and their crews,~Who come
1043 Winter|        nothing new; for such is their heredity. ~But what do you think
1044 Autumn|            not fraternize with wanton heretics, ~And heed them not when
1045       | herself
1046 Summer|           call them by their names, ~'Hey, Kubas, Hans, Enskys! Where
1047 Winter|            And gracefully unfolds its hidden loveliness.~But when the
1048 Winter|      rain-proof coats and wearing new high-boots, ~Splashed through the squashy
1049 Autumn|            see what they had on their high-heaped plates; ~Still others boorishly
1050 Spring|     thouroughly undone, ~And heaps of high-piled snow had dwindled down to
1051 Autumn|             had no fear of rich or of high-ranking men. ~Here three befattened
1052 Spring|    Headforemost galloping through the high-splashing mud, ~While others, pantless
1053 Spring|              You, too, resort to your high-toned nocturnal song,~And with
1054 Summer|                And wishes to sit on a higher chair than his. ~Is that
1055 Autumn|            And soon the guests became hilariously gay; ~They e'en began to
1056 Spring|            rise again and live. ~Each hill and dale had cast away the
1057 Summer|           knave, e'en if you feign to hire him, ~Has nerve to pry from
1058 Summer|               means, ~Each year while hiring help would add a dollar
1059 Spring|             to till the rugged soil, ~Hitched to a plow and whipped by
1060 Summer|        through his hands he pours his hoarded gold, ~Yet dares not use
1061 Summer|      substance lies in all stalls and hog pens, ~And on the beams,
1062 Autumn|              devour them like unsated hogs? ~Of course, the belly must
1063 Autumn|              scream loud enough. ~One holds him much too bold; another -
1064 Spring|             we observe the springtime holidays, ~We must not overlook the
1065 Summer|               home a sheaf of rye and hollered lustily. ~But now the pallid
1066 Spring|          quakes like mercury within a hollow flask, ~And by his restlessness
1067 Summer|       generous supply of nearbeer and homebrew, ~So when we weakened or
1068 Spring|            they both at once, as good homemakers should, ~With courage and
1069 Autumn|          where the sly bear stole the honey from the bees, ~And his
1070 Summer|              much too weak to crack a honey-flavored nut.' ~"But e'en a measly
1071 Autumn|          publicly he would defend and honor me, ~Then though my flesh
1072 Winter|              And Krizas is a fine and honorable man;~He cherishes his friends
1073 Autumn|              not don a wedded woman's hood. ~Ere long a goodly crowd,
1074 Autumn|     gatherings. ~The matrons all wear hoods, and kerchiefs, and headcloths, ~
1075 Summer|          stealthy mice and scares the hooting owls; ~This precious substance
1076 Autumn|             which bough they began to hop about and laugh - ~And learned
1077 Autumn|           their behinds. ~The latter, hopelessly indined to deviltry, ~Prevents
1078 Winter|              ox. ~In fact they slay a horde of oxen ev'ry year. ~They
1079 Spring|              bears his sole remaining horn; ~The other, who has lost
1080 Autumn|              and, too, spare not that hornless ram;~Put chickens, ducks
1081 Autumn|           wife, Pime, was shocked and horrified;~She took him in her arms
1082 Summer|             name,~Because He with His hosts assisted you each day~To
1083 Winter|              food, ~As well as proper hours for leisure and for sleep. ~
1084 Spring|         gentle womenfolk, industrious housewives, ~You need not blush in
1085 Autumn|        glowing blaze. ~Let's make the hovels, stalls, and stables weather-tight, ~
1086 Summer|             for veal,~Keep their loud howling up and shamelessly insist~
1087 Winter|               wolves drew near;~Their howls broke savagely into the
1088 Spring|         beneath the winter's ice, ~Or huddled shivering under a stunted
1089 Winter|      slaughter oxen red, and of every hue; ~Fearless, unhesitant,
1090 Summer|            while, then casts away its hues, ~Produces its new seed,
1091 Autumn|           Compels the old and weak to hug the blazing stove, ~Goads
1092 Winter|         blindness has obsessed infirm humanity! ~Another, to please him,
1093 Autumn|           some kinds boor's hand ~And humbly pleads for food, his hunger
1094 Autumn|            out your hide?' ~His words humiliated me so terribly, ~I wished
1095 Winter|            expect then, that when the hump'd fall came,~We likewise
1096 Spring|              the green forest's edge ~Hunted in joyous mood for some
1097 Winter|            beloved babes. ~O ye smart hunters and ye, O learned foresters,~
1098 Autumn|              pulled out his well-worn hunting knife~And started to carve
1099 Spring|           Would fashion baby-dolls of hurden rags and clouts, ~And leaning
1100 Autumn|           Barbe sang a song about the hurds, ~While Pakuliene and Lauriene
1101 Summer|              snowy linen clouts,~Were hurrying on foot along the lanes
1102 Spring|               Bush, forest, grove and hurst resounded with sweet song; ~
1103 Spring|            began to build again. ~The husband fetched great loads of branches,
1104 Spring|               to our fair land, ~And, husbandlike, atop the roof displayed
1105 Winter|         despising God, laughs like an idiot, ~Another, to please him,
1106 Spring|          willing to obey. ~His winter idleness and his barn dreams must
1107 Spring|            the rich, ~Think that each idler, dressed in trimmed and
1108 Autumn|            talk as such. ~Who for the idlers would produce the sapid
1109 Winter|               to where the storks now idly drowse.~Then through the
1110 Summer|             wood they fashioned their idols, ~Placed them in giant oak
1111 Winter|               wood or things that can ignite. ~Henceforth you must observe
1112 Autumn|           drenching rains pour on our ill-clad backs; ~Too oft the blazing
1113 Autumn|           them and drink up all their ill-gotten gains. ~Whenever I stole
1114 Autumn|               a time we sip but weak, ill-tasting soup, ~Many a time we drink
1115 Summer|                Why do these countless ills torment the luckless rich? ~
1116 Autumn|             daughter wed. ~And pretty Ilzbute, their very youngest child, ~
1117 Autumn|             ye barbarians! Ye godless imbeciles! ~Have you no fear that
1118 Autumn|             bast shoes and worn boots imbibe the squashy mud ~And kneed
1119 Winter|              hold off the wrath of an impending storm. ~Can a mere sparrow
1120 Winter|             Let's hurry to repair our implements and tools; ~Because the
1121 Autumn|             walked right by like some important lord, ~And then paced up
1122 Summer|               not better off when the impost is due. ~"But how can poor
1123 Autumn|           shout, ~I stood and uttered imprecations silently, ~And yet so fervently,
1124 Summer|            and dried in summer time, ~Improves so much our soups in frigid
1125 Autumn|               and drinks ~At weddings improvise all kinds of clowning jests. ~
1126 Autumn|           teachers, too, ~Because his imps at times are spanked on
1127 Autumn|              The weather, too, is now inclement, harsh and cold; ~It drives
1128 Autumn|               ways of life, ~Were oft inclined to think that only Swiss
1129 Winter|          miseries and woes.~What this incoming year and the ascending sun,~
1130 Summer|            everhungry help.~My thrift increases as I seethe the dinner pot,~
1131 Winter|           Like a long stream of ants, increasing o'er and o'er. ~And it was
1132 Spring|              all out, ~And oftentimes incurs a mishap needlessly. ~And
1133 Autumn|         care-worn cheeks. ~We are the indigent and overburdened souls! ~
1134 Autumn|                The latter, hopelessly indined to deviltry, ~Prevents his
1135 Autumn|            you have heard of late how indiscreet Docys, ~By spending lavishly
1136 Spring|         summer nears. ~Merciukas, you indolent fool, why do you laugh? ~
1137 Autumn|          seethed ham while doing work indoors? ~"Yea," Lauras said, "meats
1138 Autumn|               with pride of his great influence, ~Is too ashamed to speak
1139 Autumn|            this house, ~Until you are informed that you are welcome here!" ~
1140 Summer|          duties and their tasks; ~But inhumanely you did not insult the boors. ~
1141 Winter|               fairly tried to fix his innocence or guilt; ~Too, all the
1142 Winter|          Shoots rashly and burns down innocent people's homes." ~Meanwhile
1143 Spring|             you poor wretch?" the bat inquired of him,~Eyeing the drunken
1144 Spring|        useless women, these words are inscribed for you. ~But gentle womenfolk,
1145 Spring|             slur his worthy name with insensate remarks? ~Just wait, you
1146 Spring|               steaks are ripping your insides?~As they your uncle's did,
1147 Autumn|             heads. ~Many a day we eat insipid, tasteless meals, ~Many
1148 Summer|            howling up and shamelessly insist~That I should kill for them
1149 Autumn|            the same, ~Then these same insolent, bewhiskered lunatics, ~
1150       | Instead
1151 Summer|            But inhumanely you did not insult the boors. ~Misfortunes
1152 Summer|           tract, which still remained intact. ~Plauciunas, that old sot,
1153 Spring|         dinner pot. ~The Lord did not intend that the remiss should eat; ~
1154 Summer|            straight to Karaliaucius. ~Intending there to buy a new hone
1155 Summer|            young nincompoop, ~When he intends to get more dollars for
1156 Spring|         streaming flocks ~Rejoice and intermingle, fly around and laugh, ~
1157 Spring|             bellies ached, ~And their intestines burst, and they died in
1158 Summer|             Like a cock chasing hens, intimidates his men. ~But his stooge,
1159 Spring|              the bullhead bat and the intriguer owl ~Who gathered needed
1160 Autumn|               deceivers did. ~The sly intriguers soon slipped out to a quiet
1161 Winter|              refrain not from thefts, intrigues and rogueries. ~"And so,
1162 Autumn|               all know boors at times invent fantastic tales, ~And all
1163 Autumn|               when it comes to boots, invented by the French, ~And shoes,
1164 Spring|           lift an active wing ~And to investigate what trouble had occured. ~
1165 Summer|              joyful times. ~But pray, invite me too, and all my family, ~
1166 Autumn|              wedding style. ~Then the inviters hasened in with steaming
1167 Spring|           world, ~Soon find ourselves involved in endless needs and cares, ~
1168 Summer|               said to Paikzentis, ~As inwardly I praised his words, but
1169 Autumn|             work is arduous, our life ir sorrowful. ~Too oft the
1170 Autumn|              and the majestic grove; ~Irate winds crush the charm of
1171 Autumn|             hungry days. ~"And be not irked, my friend, if I still add
1172 Winter|             so Docys was put in heavy iron chains, ~Then thrown into
1173 Spring|              who heard such loose and irrational talk~Were much ashamed of
1174 Autumn|         always less numerous~Than the irreverent and the ungodly men.~And
1175       | itself
1176 Winter|              how Docys, that reckless jackanapes,~Ruined honest Krizas so
1177 Winter|              slipped on his sheepskin jacket, inside out,~And sped away
1178 Winter|              or Docys steals Mykolas' jackknife, ~Or when Jeke by force,
1179 Summer|    Lithuanians act, ~When after Saint Jacob's rye harvesting is done; ~
1180 Winter|        forester has caught and put in jail, ~That 'tis high time for
1181 Autumn|                 Now e'en the children jeer and laugh right in my face. ~"
1182 Autumn|                because the serfs sang jeering songs. ~When this ordeal
1183 Summer|                that will be enough to jest about the dung. ~About the
1184 Autumn|               Lithuanian style. ~Some jesters purposely wore their outworn
1185 Winter|              Well, when a Polish or a Jewish chatterer ~Maliciously attempts
1186 Autumn|             they lie and falsify like Jews. ~"Now in the thorp where
1187 Winter|              move after you're on the job; ~Some of you just stand
1188 Summer|              tis a timely call; Saint John's great holiday, ~After
1189 Autumn|               been divinely blest and joined forevermore. ~The relatives
1190 Winter|             light.~Thou giveth us our joints and limbs, desires and whims,~
1191 Autumn|         alcohol, ~Begin their boorish jokes and rough, indecent tales, ~
1192 Spring|            tears were shed; ~They all joyfully sang their merry melodies. ~
1193 Spring|               lamenting and forseeing joyless days, ~I say to her, 'Dear
1194 Autumn|           house, ~Brought in a goodly jug of whiskey of rare kind, ~
1195 Autumn|            all at once with pitchers, jugs and mugs ~Began to draw
1196 Autumn|          breathlessly, ~While the hot juices trickled down their bobbing
1197 Summer|          frenzied watchman came, ~And jumping up and down, began to curse
1198 Spring|             gorged the fancy food and juncy steaks and roasts. ~But
1199 Autumn|           fields gave forth in joyous June,~We now have gathered and
1200 Winter|             found to be at hand, ~The jurists ordered that Docys should
1201 Autumn|              penny give, ~And then to justify themselves tell many lies. ~"
1202 Autumn|           rushed up and seized Pime; ~Kairiuks, with wooden shoes, dragged
1203 Autumn|              Brought in on a litter a keg of potent beer; ~The groomsmen
1204 Autumn|               Plauciunas bought three kegs of rare and costly beer, ~
1205 Autumn|           matrons all wear hoods, and kerchiefs, and headcloths, ~And maidens
1206 Winter|             wagon wheels resound like kettle drums, ~And pound the human
1207 Spring|             wing. ~Some sang in lower key, some soared to heights
1208 Autumn|              they twirled, jumped and kicked in good Lithuanian style. ~
1209 Spring|           searching for his cash ~And kicking, he upset the table and
1210 Spring|            rich join with the village kids; ~Fraternally they play
1211 Autumn|          laughs ~And disobeys me, his kind-hearted chief commune - ~And even
1212 Summer|              help would brag that the kindhearted boss ~Had thrown in as a
1213 Autumn|           with the proud rustic men. ~Klisis, with ugly boots, rushed
1214 Autumn|           imbibe the squashy mud ~And kneed the ugly mire as a fermenting
1215 Summer|            wrath? ~And what if Diksas kneels beside his treasure chest ~
1216 Spring|            you had no experience,~And knew not how the dolls would
1217 Summer|           rusty sword like an exalted knight, ~And shouts with loud contempt
1218 Winter|              forsee,~But Thou already knowest how great our needs will
1219 Spring|                what joy you must have known,~When in an open field your
1220 Autumn|            and wine, ~And even downed Kriziene as she served the drinks ~
1221 Summer|              my friend, 'tis tough to labor in the sun, ~When streaming
1222 Spring|              silk ~To lay to sleep in lace and satin featherbeds; ~
1223 Spring|             So that his fibered wings lacked energy to stir. ~The owl,
1224 Spring|               a slimy worm, ~Another, lacking grain, chews a beweathered
1225 Autumn|              third, with two ungainly ladles in his hands,~Into a steaming
1226 Spring|                that piebald bug. ~Eat lady beetles, vain grasshoppers
1227 Summer|           search and never find their lair. ~You may blow horns or
1228 Winter|          nestling in their wind-tight lairs, ~While others cower high
1229 Spring|            were hurt or drowning in a lake, ~"Help, help! Oh, quickly
1230 Spring|             the sunlit fields; ~Young lambs and suckling pigs enjoy
1231 Spring|               sighs and cries. ~So I, lamenting and forseeing joyless days, ~
1232 Autumn|      blear-eyed, ~And, looking at the lamp, he could not see the light.~
1233 Winter|                 Then he will take our lands and leave us to beg alms. ~
1234 Summer|            hurrying on foot along the lanes and paths.~And it was strange,
1235 Summer|            yet the summer crops still languish in the fields; ~The weather
1236 Autumn|          waxed wedding boots onto his lanky legs. ~Like the men, women,
1237 Autumn|                Puts them in her man's lap, and drinks along with him. ~
1238 Summer|         stretched out in full length, laps water full of bugs, ~As
1239 Summer|              shout and ask from you a larger share ~In rye and other
1240 Summer|             Here Albas in a new, just lately finished cart,~Merciukas,
1241 Summer|            employees have learned the latest ways, ~And since they mix
1242 Winter|         beneath a tavern bench, ~Both laud the frauds and thefts of
1243 Winter|              Lauras, his hired hand, ~Lauds Krizas and his home and
1244 Spring|               wakening the world ~And laughing at the wreck of frigid winter'
1245 Autumn|               and potent drinks,~Loud laughter, tactless tales, and squeaky
1246 Summer|               arose amidst the crowd.~Laurynas, soaking wet, seized the
1247 Autumn|            Krizas' daughter's gay and lavish wedding ball.~All members
1248 Autumn|        indiscreet Docys, ~By spending lavishly and drinking senselessly, ~
1249 Summer|               day; ~To heed the royal laws and sundry feudal rules, ~
1250 Summer|         sneeringly deride your wanton laziness? ~O ye Lithuanian wives,
1251 Summer|            mortal blows fell on every lea and dale. ~Bright buds and
1252 Summer|        daughters young and sweet from leading useless lives?~Do you want
1253 Winter|            pound the human ear many a league away. ~So now the world
1254 Winter|            green woods, ~And give you leagues of land and miles of pastures
1255 Winter|            Fearless, unhesitant, they leap upon a herd, ~And slaughter
1256 Spring|             this world. ~"We too, ere learning to blab out the A B C, ~
1257 Winter|            Prickus, the commune, thus lectured to the boors, ~Down in the
1258 Winter|             shade, like boors under a ledge of roof, ~The naked saplings,
1259 Summer|              useful wears and goods; ~Left-over mushrooms they conserve
1260 Winter|              well as proper hours for leisure and for sleep. ~Ah, sweet
1261 Summer|             And stretched out in full length, laps water full of bugs, ~
1262 Winter|               be more frugal with our lessening reserves; ~Whenever we cook,
1263 Spring|            Baring his gnashing teeth, lets loose his serpent tongue. ~"
1264 Spring|               I fetched to Kasparas a letter days ago; ~At his high gate
1265 Spring|        turnips, radishes, ~Cucumbers, lettuce, onions and potatoes too. ~
1266 Winter|           soon the village homes were levelled to the ground. ~Durakas,
1267 Autumn|               But when the chieftains levy the annual tax,~And send
1268 Winter|            know the joy of your sweet liberty.~In childhood days we met
1269 Spring|               back;~Each day a lot of lice he combed out of your hair,~
1270 Autumn|               thresh his crops,~Keeps licking his lips and looks at the
1271 Spring|              man, shot down some poor liegeman of ours, ~Or sneakingly
1272 Spring|              autumn to the brim ~With life-sustaining rye, wheat, barley, peas
1273 Autumn|           then when he has threshed a liffle precious grain,~At once
1274 Winter|         screeches like a cockerel and lifts his crest. ~Alas, few men
1275 Winter|              alluring charms!~And ye, light-hearted birds singing sweet melodies!~
1276 Spring|          praise to the Eternal Lord. ~Light-winged swallows rose beyond the
1277 Summer|           buds, like blooming youth - lighthearted, playful brave - ~Old blooms,
1278 Winter|                 As its terrific glare lights up the gloomy heights, ~
1279 Winter|            light linen garb, or other lightweight clothes;~And when the raging
1280 Summer|               mere provender. ~Many a lily white, many a flamming rose, ~
1281 Winter|              giveth us our joints and limbs, desires and whims,~And
1282 Winter|               commune with their long line of carts~Conveyed to Karaliaucius
1283 Summer|              now refuse to wear white linens and bast shoes, ~And girls
1284 Winter|               you cook your soup, ~Or linger by the stove to gain some
1285 Autumn|               out pots with loathsome liniments, ~Still raging mad, he almost
1286 Winter|             frog stand up against the lion's strength? ~Therefore beware
1287 Summer|          mustache begins to shade the lip, ~And when the time's at
1288 Autumn|             And offered the degrading liquids to the girls. ~But hark,
1289 Autumn|        maleficent hordes, ~Is seizing listless hearts, seducing idle minds. ~
1290 Autumn|           right away ~Brought in on a litter a keg of potent beer; ~The
1291 Spring|              ox must needs obtain his livelihood by toil;~Yet oft, when times
1292 Autumn|               a lot of that so useful liverwurst:~For such conserves will
1293 Summer|            their share. ~Thus, having loafed away our hash and oatmeal
1294 Spring|               remiss should eat; ~The loafers and truants are never welcome
1295 Summer|           Hans, Enskys! Where are you loafing now? ~The eve is nigh and
1296 Autumn|           having thrown out pots with loathsome liniments, ~Still raging
1297 Winter|               and lobsters with their lobsterlings,~And ev'ry thing that sleeps
1298 Winter|              For now fish, frogs, and lobsters with their lobsterlings,~
1299 Summer|            last Plauciunas missed his long-lost property, ~And now began
1300 Winter|       Denounced the autumn's mire and longed for winter's haste. ~As
1301 Spring|             the winter had remained a longer while,~Or that we were sent
1302 Autumn|             and care, ~And looks with longing eyes to us for sustenance.~
1303 Autumn|              became blear-eyed, ~And, looking at the lamp, he could not
1304 Autumn|      clergymen. ~On Sundays, when the loose-tongued gossipers convene, ~Their
1305 Autumn|               harsh winds, ~With many loosened patches falling to the ground. ~
1306 Winter|              laugh as they divide the loot. ~"Of course, your better
1307 Winter|            when his forman boxes your lop ears. ~For though the bellows
1308 Spring|              mother used to pull your loppy ears? ~And now you, like
1309 Winter|             about our customs and our lore. ~Not only Germans come
1310 Summer|               sweet smiles and curls ~Lose all the grace and charm,
1311 Summer|            with his work, ~And like a louse filled up with blood but
1312 Summer|               tame pigs; ~And yet the lousy knave, e'en if you feign
1313 Winter|           sighs each day; ~And such a lout, too, treats the Lord God
1314 Autumn|               of good character;~They love their families, obey the
1315 Summer|             men are hard to find. ~He loved and cherished plain and
1316 Summer|                God bless each one who loves our dear Lithuania old - ~
1317 Spring|               the wing. ~Some sang in lower key, some soared to heights
1318 Winter|               the barren fields, ~How lowland, swamp, and marsh all hard-fixed
1319 Autumn|              from all sides, ~And how Lucifer, with his maleficent hordes, ~
1320 Autumn|             deprived me of my ax;~But luckily he never took my horse -
1321 Autumn|             sturdy maple trees, ~Then lug the stolen logs down to
1322 Autumn|             And there to cook and eat lukewarm or steaming soups. ~The
1323 Spring|              they gently hum maternal lullabies: ~Just wait, ere long new
1324 Spring|            plows up the soil in heavy lumps, ~A horse must harrow down
1325 Autumn|            same insolent, bewhiskered lunatics, ~As if the sky might fall,
1326 Autumn|             And stuff it with chopped lungs until it almost bursts.~
1327 Autumn|             armful of dry twigs. ~But lusk Docys is dozing by the flaming
1328 Summer|             sheaf of rye and hollered lustily. ~But now the pallid ears
1329 Spring|             scorn the sound of organ, lute and lyre,~You still in shame
1330 Spring|              sound of organ, lute and lyre,~You still in shame the
1331 Spring|            days, ~I say to her, 'Dear Ma, for once try not to cry; ~
1332 Summer|              urgent need, ~But like a madman gulps unseasoned, uncooked
1333 Autumn|        fulsome house. ~With all their magic herbs and exorcising drugs, ~
1334 Autumn|             the fire around the pot. ~Maguze and Jeke work on the firewood
1335 Autumn|       kerchiefs, and headcloths, ~And maidens all adorn their hair with
1336 Winter|           these rapacious beasts will maim and kill us, too, ~And slaughter
1337 Spring|            garb, ~Some carried back a maimed or broken wing or crest; ~
1338 Summer|             almost fifty years I have maintained this house,~And handled
1339 Spring|            weaving homespun goods and making pants and shirts; ~But will
1340 Summer|               we suffer their strange maladies. ~Lo, in their urban halls
1341 Autumn|             And how Lucifer, with his maleficent hordes, ~Is seizing listless
1342 Autumn|           devil fouls the hair of the malicious men. ~Awake ye, brethren,
1343 Winter|         Polish or a Jewish chatterer ~Maliciously attempts to steal or to
1344 Autumn|            stomach with thick foam of malt. ~Alas, the wedding guests,
1345 Spring|            blood-curdling sight, ~But managed to dart out from the infernal
1346 Autumn|            neck his worn and tattered mane,~I sigh heart-stricken at
1347 Spring|       truthful words, ~Swelled like a maniac bereft of reasoning. ~He
1348 Autumn|              strapped~His own strong, manly loins with a new leather
1349 Autumn|             the astounded guests;~His manners were no boon to the gay
1350 Autumn|            but mighty oaks and sturdy maple trees, ~Then lug the stolen
1351 Winter|             salutes the winter on the march. ~Yea, 'tis a proper time;
1352 Autumn|             lord. ~But God distinctly marked to ev'ry man his place, ~
1353 Winter|            solid icy roads across the marshy swamps, ~And prompted all
1354 Spring|            one killed by a skunk or a marten?~Perhaps someone was snatched
1355 Autumn|           female friends, ~Rubbed and massaged Docys with their strong
1356 Winter|            storm. ~Can a mere sparrow match the eagle's majesty? ~Or
1357 Spring|               And now they gently hum maternal lullabies: ~Just wait, ere
1358 Autumn|              various gatherings. ~The matrons all wear hoods, and kerchiefs,
1359 Winter|            And prearranged for us all matters of our lives.~Thou hast
1360 Winter|              Lithuanian, stuffed with mealy peas and pork,~Forgets to
1361 Summer|              measly nut should not be meanly scorned, ~For many girls
1362 Summer|     honey-flavored nut.' ~"But e'en a measly nut should not be meanly
1363 Autumn|               weigh teachers, so they measure clergymen. ~On Sundays,
1364 Autumn|               all kinds of charms and medicines.~Gryta came with a cut of
1365 Spring|            year the last to start her mellow melodies,~Each night she
1366 Spring|               lovely queen, ~And your melodic strains grow evermore superb; ~
1367 Summer|          tribe's sounds, chirps a sad melody. ~Yea, in such a brief time
1368 Spring|              daily household use,~Has melted fast away like snow before
1369 Autumn|              lavish wedding ball.~All members of the house politely bent
1370 Autumn|               Martin's feast is but a memory,~The Advent is at hand,
1371 Autumn|       betattered thralls, ~Barefooted mendicant, as crafty nobleman, ~Each
1372 Winter|              told why he is afraid of mendicants -~It is because he hates
1373 Autumn|             of them while eating even mentioned dung. ~As the guests gorged
1374 Spring|               thug, the hawk, and his mentor, the owl - ~The ravens and
1375 Spring|               a fool ~Who quakes like mercury within a hollow flask, ~
1376 Spring|             into an even thread. ~You merit high regard when in the
1377 Autumn|             there, all summer joy and merriment is gone! ~The crows alone
1378 Spring|           messing in refuse, you have messed up your home, ~And caused
1379 Spring|            tumblebugs prevail! ~While messing in refuse, you have messed
1380 Summer|            set for war, ~With shining metal blades, attacked the verdant
1381 Winter|            days of grief and joy,~And meted to each one his ways and
1382 Summer|              his house until the next mid-morn. ~He fell into his bed and
1383 Winter|               from the grain merchant Mikolas.~As the squire opened and
1384 Autumn|            single horned bull, ~While Mikols in the garden singes butchered
1385 Summer|          Lauriene, tit for tat, ~With milking buckets watered raging men
1386 Spring|              circling high amidst the milky clouds ~And filling all
1387 Summer|                And since they mix and mill with Germans more and more, ~
1388 Autumn|          uninvited men sneaked in and milled around. ~As soon as Krizas
1389 Spring|             you, scapegrace Pukys, be mindful of the fact~That Lauras
1390 Spring|           eyes; ~And that old wife of mine -you well know woman's ways -~
1391 Spring|          fields and meadows rang with mingling melodies. ~The cuckoo and
1392 Winter|           windows form, ~Like shining mirrors fashioned by a glazier's
1393 Winter|               late complain about the mischief of the boors. ~'Tis awful
1394 Winter|             Kasparas - ~That dreadful miscreant parades with folded arms, ~
1395 Spring|         endless woes?~Because of your misdeed, the Lord God branded you,~
1396 Winter|               days we met but painful misery,~And it will trouble us
1397 Winter|             the cash received,~What a misfortune! - it was one whole shilling
1398 Summer|            did not insult the boors. ~Misfortunes of the poor you viewed with
1399 Winter|              tis bad when you, having mislaid something, ~At night with
1400       | miss
1401 Summer|             time. ~At last Plauciunas missed his long-lost property, ~
1402 Autumn|                You rascal, why do you mistreat your animal?~Has not he
1403 Winter|       Lithuanians, borscht and savory mixed-mass,~Cooked tastily with pork,
1404 Summer|       children dance and kick, ~Death mixes in and chokes young lives
1405 Winter|            crying spell, ~And keep on moaning low and grieving constantly, ~
1406 Winter|           bitter tears, withhold your moans and sighs! ~We all recall
1407 Summer|               nuts to them is a crude mockery. ~As some one aptly said, '
1408 Spring|               children must beware of modern ways and styles! ~Keep living
1409 Autumn|             through penury he live so modestly, ~But to pay up the taxes
1410 Spring|         lengthy droughts, must gnaw a molded crust, ~And out of selfsame
1411 Spring|               the moldwarps raise the molehills in the mead, ~And urge you
1412 Winter|           good fight, ~And then, come Monday, he keeps picking his snout'
1413 Spring|           rope and net, ~And save the money for many another use? ~Sow
1414 Summer|           tell you strange events and monstrous things. ~My father, Krizas,
1415 Summer|              kill within these recent months,~That where to hang the
1416 Summer|               it is a shame to say - ~Morose, alone, the dry rye with
1417 Spring|             countless flies and bugs, mosquitos, gnats and fleas. ~In ever
1418 Winter|              It swallows not just our moss-covered boorish homes, ~But also
1419 Winter|          bread. ~"For even oxen, dun, motely, black, white and brown,~
1420 Autumn|             was no word, no sound, no motion in the house. ~The songs
1421 Winter|               willed for him. ~He who mounts a high throne as soon as
1422 Spring|        welcome here. ~Before a hungry mouth may taste a tempting meal, ~
1423 Summer|            that at times they must be moved by angry words, ~So that
1424 Summer|           frail, infirm - ~Were being mowed by death on each and ev'
1425 Summer|             breathlessly falls on the muddy bank, ~And stretched out
1426 Summer|           girls care not to don their multicolored skirts. ~The rustic boys
1427 Spring|           then each year arrive great multitudes of dolls,~And these dolls,
1428 Autumn|               picked up a club; ~With murder in his eyes, he hastened
1429 Spring|            among us we have no such a murderer ~As that sly thing who gapes
1430 Winter|           time we cook pea and groats mush.~Many a stingy spring we
1431 Autumn|          pipes they dropped. ~And the musicians, too, became so terrified ~
1432 Summer|            things. ~But when the thin mustache begins to shade the lip, ~
1433 Autumn|          feudal cruelties?~Why do you mutilate poor dobbin's flanks with
1434 Autumn|               the bees, ~And his mate muttered as she suckled her frail
1435 Autumn|              and roots,~Admixed Dutch myrtle leaves and Polish axle tar; ~
1436 Autumn|             Another, tearing with his nails an outstreched hare, ~Was
1437 Winter|           under a ledge of roof, ~The naked saplings, pinched by the
1438 Autumn|                  Having not seen such nastiness in all my life, ~I was so
1439 Summer|         vilefy the Swiss in their own native tongue, ~While they themselves
1440 Winter|                Of course, your better nature must well realize," ~Spoke
1441 Spring|            our silly tots do selfsame naughty things?' ~'The boorish women
1442 Autumn|           uttered not a word about my nausea. ~You know how the rich
1443 Summer|            made ~A generous supply of nearbeer and homebrew, ~So when we
1444 Spring|             flew off to a green marsh nearby; ~Then having caught and
1445 Winter|               yea; the summer dear is nearing day by day, ~And promises
1446 Autumn|          brought him home in a trough nearly dead. ~"His faithful wife,
1447 Spring|            eternal will ~We sense the nearness of the balmy summer days. ~
1448 Spring|           realize that now the summer nears. ~Merciukas, you indolent
1449 Autumn|          table's like the holy altar, neatly set, ~And on it rest many
1450 Spring|            oftentimes incurs a mishap needlessly. ~And take the vender of
1451 Spring|            those should blush who are neglectful of their work. ~For you
1452 Autumn|             his swinishness ~And as a neighbor, gave him sensible advice. ~
1453 Autumn|              eighth day appeared,~The neighborhood began to dress for the event.~
1454 Summer|               feign to hire him, ~Has nerve to pry from you more dollars
1455 Winter|              clash, ~Some animals are nestling in their wind-tight lairs, ~
1456 Spring|             stretched long entrapping nets. ~Even the wolves and bears
1457 Spring|               naught. ~Tare, thistle, nettle, and many a useless weed ~
1458 Autumn|           sword at his side, ~Nor any newborn boor dragged out with him
1459 Autumn|            the chefs had cooked these newest kinds of food, ~That filled
1460 Autumn|            crowded yard rode then the newly-weds, ~Who by the bishop's hand
1461 Winter|              fulsome meat, ~It is bad news that casts disgrace on a
1462 Autumn|           bears the name Slunkius - a nickname. ~We all know boors at times
1463 Summer|              loafing now? ~The eve is nigh and you have not begun to
1464 Winter|             daily makes his bed, ~And nightly, when the world is slumbering
1465 Winter|            obtain a goodly wad,~Their nimble tongues draw tufts into
1466 Summer|         shamed by the work of a young nincompoop, ~When he intends to get
1467 Winter|              hoary men, you beardless nincompoops,~And hear the tales of those
1468 Autumn|            eyes and ears to learn how nobles talk and dine.~Ere long
1469 Spring|             resort to your high-toned nocturnal song,~And with your ever
1470 Spring|              and never skimp; eat any noisy thing. ~Eat, if you will,
1471 Autumn|               other so,~That some had noses smashed and others ears
1472 Spring|                You still in shame the notes of violin and harp,~When
1473 Winter|           days with their teams.~They notified the bailiwick of Vyzlaukis,~
1474 Autumn|          faihfully on holy days. ~But nowadys, good God, it is a shame
1475 Summer|            lives?~Do you want to walk nude before the German folk ~
1476 Winter|            Ran out to kill the needed number of dark birds. ~Seeing a
1477 Autumn|            believers were always less numerous~Than the irreverent and
1478 Autumn|            sincere delight to the gay nuptial feast.~And surely, after
1479 Summer|      spreading good manure ~That rich nutrition gives to the exhausted soil. ~
1480 Winter|             move, ~Nor of your solemn oath a single word recall -~And
1481 Summer|              help was so cheep and so obedient? ~"When I was but a lad,
1482 Winter|          crows. ~Durakas, a dull boy, obeying his blunt boss, ~Ran out
1483 Winter|              the more - as long as he obeys his God. ~"But you, self-willed,
1484 Summer|            the solid ground and ev'ry object shook: ~"I hope the thunder
1485 Spring|              crops; ~The field is not obliged to yield great wealth for
1486 Autumn|            Nor tell the forester that Obrys, my hired hand, ~Each autumn
1487 Autumn|            paced up and down mumbling obscenities. ~He'd brought a great thirst
1488 Summer|          world has greatly changed. ~"Observing such events at my enfeebled
1489 Winter|             come! ~What blindness has obsessed infirm humanity! ~Another,
1490 Spring|            her family, ~And saves the odds and ends for the much needed
1491 Autumn|            she served the drinks ~And offered the degrading liquids to
1492 Autumn|              and pious psalms, fasts, offerings and prayers - ~To these
1493 Summer|            reviving gulp, ~But no one offers him a quaff of homemade
1494 Autumn|              high lord to a most high official, ~And at the latter's house
1495 Autumn|        Complained to the Karaliaucius officials, ~But none ever received
1496 Winter|             its miseries that made us ofttimes cry,~With Thy kind providence,
1497 Summer|             To crack and taste in the oncoming winter days.~Of course,
1498 Spring|        radishes, ~Cucumbers, lettuce, onions and potatoes too. ~See that
1499       | onto
1500 Autumn|             awkward fingers he seized oozing chunks of meats~And dumped