"Estás viejo, padre William", dijo el joven,
"Y tus cabellos se han vuelto muy blancos
Y aun así te paras sobre tu cabeza -
¿piensas que a tu edad esto es correcto?"
"En mi juventud", contestó Padre William a su hijo,
"Temí que eso pudiera dañar mi cerebro;
Pero, ahora que sé perfectamente que carezco de él,
Bueno, lo hago una y otra vez".
"Estás viejo", dijo el joven, "como ya lo he mencionado,
Y te has puesto extraordinariamente gordo;
Aun así, das un salto mortal hacia atrás al pasar la puerta-
Te ruego me digas cuál es la razón."
"En mi juventud", dijo el sabio agitando sus bucles canosos,
Mantuve mis miembros muy flexibles
Con el uso de esta pomada -un chelín la caja-
¿Me permites venderte un par?"
"Estas viejo", dijo el joven, "y tus mandíbulas son muy débiles
Para cualquier cosa más dura que el sebo;
Aun así, te despachaste un ganso, con los huesos y el pico -
Te ruego me digas cómo te las arreglaste para hacerlo".
"En mi juventud", dijo el padre, "tomé la ley,
Y argumenté cada caso con mi mujer;
Y la capacidad muscular que eso dio a mi mandíbula
Me duró el resto de mi vida".
"Estás viejo", dijo el joven, "y difícilmente alguien pueda suponer
Que tu ojo es tan certero como siempre;
Aun así balanceaste una anguila sobre el extremo de tu nariz-
¿Quién te hizo tan terriblemente listo?"
"Contesté tres preguntas, y eso es suficiente,"
Dijo el padre, "no te pases de la raya.
¿Piensas que tengo todo el día para oír pavadas?
Vete, antes de que te arroje por la escalera".
Lewis Carroll (Daresbury, Cheshire, Inglaterra, 1832 - Guildford, Surrey, Inglaterra,1898), The Hunting of the Snark and Other Poems and Verses, Harper & Brothers, New York, 1903.
Versión de J. Aulicino
Father William
"You are old, Father William," the young man said, /"And your hair has become very white; /And yet you incessantly stand on your head-- /Do you think, at your age, it is right?" // "In my youth," Father William replied to his son,/ "I feared it might injure the brain;/But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none, /Why, I do it again and again." // "You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before, /And have grown most uncommonly fat;/ Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door-- /Pray, what is the reason of that?" // "In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his gray locks,/ "I kept all my limbs very supple /By the use of this ointment -- one shilling the box -- /Allow me to sell you a couple?" // "You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak/ For anything tougher than suet; /Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak-- /Pray, how did you manage to do it?" // "In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law, /And argued each case with my wife; /And the muscular strength which it gave to my jaw /Has lasted the rest of my life." // "You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose / That your eye was as steady as ever; / Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose-- / What made you so awfully clever?" // "I have answered three questions, and that is enough," /Said his father; "don't give yourself airs! /Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? /Be off, or I'll kick you down-stairs!"
"You are old, Father William," the young man said, /"And your hair has become very white; /And yet you incessantly stand on your head-- /Do you think, at your age, it is right?" // "In my youth," Father William replied to his son,/ "I feared it might injure the brain;/But, now that I'm perfectly sure I have none, /Why, I do it again and again." // "You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before, /And have grown most uncommonly fat;/ Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door-- /Pray, what is the reason of that?" // "In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his gray locks,/ "I kept all my limbs very supple /By the use of this ointment -- one shilling the box -- /Allow me to sell you a couple?" // "You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are too weak/ For anything tougher than suet; /Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak-- /Pray, how did you manage to do it?" // "In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law, /And argued each case with my wife; /And the muscular strength which it gave to my jaw /Has lasted the rest of my life." // "You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose / That your eye was as steady as ever; / Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose-- / What made you so awfully clever?" // "I have answered three questions, and that is enough," /Said his father; "don't give yourself airs! /Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? /Be off, or I'll kick you down-stairs!"
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Foto: Lewis Carroll, c. 1870 Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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