(no subject)

[toothycat]

Original here.

"Budge over! You're taking all the room."
"No way! It's my log."
"Will you just look at her? Yeah, you just keep wagging your ugly mug. Do you have any idea who I am?"
"And do you know who I am?"
"What's to know? You're just an old frog."
"You're wrong there, actually. I'm a princess under a spell!"
"Beautiful, I'll bet?"
"Yes, exactly. And also Wise!"
"Yeah, right. Sure, I believe you. So who were you enchanted by, beauty?"
"Koschei."
"Which one is that?"
"The immortal one."
"Oh, that one... Formidable fellow."
"Who are you, then?"
"A handsome prince. Isn't it obvious?"
"Nope."
"Well, I don't care. Your opinion doesn't matter to me. Move off while I haven't pushed you off."
"How rude! Take your cold paws off me!"
"Hush. What do you need to sit here for, anyway? Shouldn't you, like, go find a marsh or something?"
"I'm watching the road. Waiting for a king's son to come and find me."
"Aha, yeah, you just keep waiting. Like he's got nothing better to do than scrabble around marshes and seduce frogs."
"I'm not a frog! I'm a princess!"
"I know, I heard you the first time. Shush."
"What do you want with my log, anyway? You're watching the road too, aren't you?"
"Is it forbidden? It's a public road, if I want to watch it I can."

A pause.

"And who were you enchanted by? Koschei too?"
"No, a witch got me; a very nasty old woman."
"Must have been a powerful witch."
"No, she did it accidentally. I trod on her foot, and she screamed out: 'Argh! May you turn into a mangy dog!' And that was that."
"A harsh woman. To punish a man so..."
"I did tread on her foot deliberately. A couple of times, too. I thought it'd be funny."
"Yeah, well done. It's funny."
"I never asked you! Quit ribbiting on and sit still."

A pause.

"The sun is setting."
"The mosquitoes will come out soon."
"You just care about food!"
"No, that's not what I meant... It's late. No-one's coming today."
"Well, let's give it another half an hour."

A pause.

"How will you convince him to kiss you?"
"I'll think of something."

A pause.

"I think it's enough for today."
"Uh-huh."
"Shall we go get some supper? Look there - huge clouds of mosquitoes!"
"Uh-huh."
"Maybe we'll have more luck tomorrow."
"Uh-huh."
"Or maybe you'll come to your senses and stop filling your head with silly fantasies."
"Idiot!"
"I may be an idiot, but I know life. There's two thousand frogs in this marsh. And every other one is sitting there waiting for her prince. Maybe this is enough time wasted on silliness?"
"But I re-e-eally am a pri-i-incess!..."
"Oh, stop crying."
"But I re-e-e..."
"Shut up."

A pause.

"So why are you sitting here, if you're so clever?"
"I want to, so I sit."
"You're waiting for your princess too, right?"
"Push off."

A pause.

"Are you really a prince?"
"Yes. Really."

A pause.

"Is there a reason why you're staring at me?"
"No... never mind."
"Push off, then, if there isn't."
"You're so rude..."
"You spend enough time here, you'll be even worse. Enough, off with you. Good night."
"And if..."
"No."

A pause.

"You're such a liar."
"Carry on thinking that if it makes it easier."
"No."
"No - what?"
"It doesn't make it easier."

A pause.

"So, I'll be off then?"
"Go, then."
"Goodbye..."
"Uh-huh. Go well."

A pause.

"Ribbit."
"Ribbit."

Comments

[alextfish.livejournal.com]

That was funny :)

[alextfish.livejournal.com]

"Go well" is a bit of a Russianism - it doesn't sound natural in English. "Bye", "See you", "Have fun", "Night-night", or whatever might make sense instead.

[toothycat]

Really? It is definitely a phrase I was thinking of as English and consciously substituting, not a literal translation of anything that occurs in Russian. I am pretty certain I picked it up from some of the fantasy books on our shelves.

Edit: 10k hits using "go well" to define "farewell". Looks like Webster is the original source for that text.