ALVIN
After many years King Alvin returned from war as its sole victor. His courtiers awaiting him rushed to remove his armor. But when they raised the helmet’s visor, they found the suit of armor empty, so they put it back, the sooner the better. Then the king spurred his horse on and rode off to a new war. 

ALVIN

Kralj Alvin se nakon mnogo godina vratio iz rata kao jedini pobjednik. Dočekali su ga dvorjani i požurili da mu skinu oklop. Ali, kad su podigli kacigu, našli su oklop prazan, pa su je brže-bolje vratili nazad. Kralj je onda mamuznuo konja i odjahao u novi rat.

KISSI SUN
Kissi Sun is the chieftain’s son who doesn’t want be a warrior. But the chieftain doesn’t care about what Kissi doesn’t want. Kissi wants to be a drummer. But the chieftain doesn’t care about what Kissi wants. He gave Kissi a spear for his birthday, but instead of hunting antelope Kissi cut the spear into drumsticks to beat on his tam tams. Which he broke. Now he’s hiding from the chieftain. If the chieftain catches him, he won’t be a warrior or a drummer, but a tam tam. 

KISSI SON

Kissi Son je sin poglavice, i neće da bude ratnik. Ali poglavica neće ni da čuje za to što Kissi neće. Kissi hoće da bude bubnjar. Ali poglavica neće da čuje ni za ono što Kissi hoće. Za rođendan mu je poklonio koplje, ali umjesto da njime lovi antilope, Kissi ga je prepolovio i kao palicama udarao po tam-tamovima. I probušio ih. Sad se krije od poglavice. Ako ga poglavica uhvati, Kissi neće biti ni ratnik ni bubnjar, nego tam-tam.

EFEM
Efem wanted to be a musician,  but like all young men in the empire he had to join the army first. When he received his weapon and his helmet, he built a radio inside the helmet, through which he ran eleven antennas that picked up music from across the entire world. If the emperor or one of his generals wanted to give him an order, they first had to bang on the door knocker to get Alvin to turn down his music. 

EFEM

Efem je želio da bude muzičar, ali je kao i svi mladići u carstvu morao prvo biti regrut. Kad je dobio oružje i oklop, on je u kacigu iznutra ugradio radio, a kroz nju izbacio jedanaest antena preko kojih prima muziku iz cijelog svijeta. Ako car ili neki carev general želi nešto da mu naredi, mora da lupa s oba zvekira, da Efem unutra prvo stiša muziku.

PE KI
Pe Ki is general of the emperor’s library. His weapons are feather dusters that wage war against the cobwebs. Like most of the generals in Mandura, Pe Ki isn’t literate and doesn’t tire his eyes reading. He winks at the wives of the other generals in the library. It’s titillating, if improper. When one of the generals’ wives in question is taller than him, Pe Ki stands on a book. The thickest book in the library is a list of all the generals in Mandura. 

PE KI 

Pe Ki je general carske biblioteke. Njegovo oružje su štapovi sa peruškama, kojima prašini zadaje udarce. Kao i većina generala u Manduriji, Pe Ki je nepismen, i ne troši svoje generalske oči na čitanje. On u biblioteci namiguje suprugama drugih generala. To nije moralno, ali je uzbudljivo. Ako je dotična gospođa generala viša od Pe Kija, on stane na neku knjigu. Najdeblja knjiga u biblioteci je popis generala u Manduriji. 

LITTLE LILYTAIL
Little Shepherd Lilytail has a dress made of petals. When she is afraid, she hides her face with the dress and reveals legs all covered in quills. 

Fear transforms the flower into a thorn. 

LOPOČITA

Pastirica Lopočita ima haljinu od latica. Kad se uplaši, ona haljinom pokrije lice i otkrije noge pune bodlji.

Strah cvijeće pretvara u trnje.

ARARAS
Araras can write with both hands at once. As a court poet he earns many gold coins, but he spends them all on shoes, because he has toenails twice as long and thicker than his feet, and sharper than gardening shears. When he’s not devising rhymes, Araras imagines that he is a cobbler in a kingdom that goes shoeless. 

ARARAS 

Araras umije pisati s dvije ruke i dva pera istovremeno. Kao dvorski pjesnik zarađuje mnogo zlatnika, ali ih sve troši na cipele, jer ima nokte na nogama deblje i duže od stopala skupa s pristima, a tvrđe i oštrije od vrtlarskih makaza. Kad ne smišlja rime, Araras sanja da je obućar na zemlji u kojoj svi hodaju bosi.

SQUIDELLA
Squidella is a governess. When the children are afraid of the dark, she says, “Let there be milk,” and stardust sprays from the mushrooms on her mantle. Then she names these constellations and imagines stories about planets inhabited by strange creatures. When she gets to the part about Planet Earth, the children are already asleep.

Translated by: Sam Farmer

SKVIDELIJA

Skvidelija je dadilja. Kad se djeca boje mraka, ona kaže neka bude mlijeko, i iz pet gljiva na njenom ogrtaču prospe se zvjezdani prah. Onda ona daje imena sazviježđima i izmišlja priče o planetama na kojima žive razna neobična bića. Kad dođe do planete Zemlje, sva djeca već spavaju.

Nenad Veličković