VLADIMIR NABOKOV
Passerby
How wonderful.
Wife
And that's another baby,
there, in the garden.
Passerby
(looks out the window)
Oh- your "grand-dad ." Splendid
old man.... The sun gives him a silvery sheen.
Splendid . . . and there's a certain dreamy air
about his movements, as his fingers slide
along a lily stem, and he is bent
over the flower bed, not picking, just
caressing, all aglow with such a tender
and timid smile .
Wife
That's true, he loves the lilies–
he fondles them, has conversations with them.
He even has invented names for them-
all names of duchesses, of marquesses ....
Passerby
How nice for him.... Now
he
is one, I'm certain,
who's lived his life in peace-yes, in some village,
away from civil and from other tumults....
Wife
He's good at doctoring.... Knows all about
medicinal herbs. Once, for our daughter–
(Juliette bursts in, laughing boisterously.)
Juliette
Oh, Mother! You'll die laughing!
Wife
Mother!
What's the matter?
Juliette
Grand-dad ... out there . .. the basket. ... Oh!
(laughs)
Wife
Come on,
let's hear it properly .
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