Pavel Petrovich Sokolov-Skalia
(Born Strel'nia, 1899; died Moscow, 1961)
Dem'ian Bednyi
(Born Gubovka, 1883; died Moscow, 1945)

A Fair Response (A Fable), TASS No. 1158, February 19, 1945

Stencil
1680 x 1265 mm
In Eastern Prussia, in the woods,
A moose met a dog. The dog ran at full speed.
"Friend," said the moose to the frightened dog,
"Why have you suddenly taken to your heels?
Has some trouble happened in the town you flee?"
"Ah," the dog cried plaintively, "I'm not here by choice:
The whole town is under enemy fire!
And what a town! How elegant it looked;
How it rejoiced when
In recent years along its streets
German forces trooped into Russia!"
"Fortunately, I've never had to be in the town,"
The moose answered glumly,
"But I do know the Germans and their habits.
In Russia, I hear, they have encountered trouble
And it's not a great stretch
To guess they went there
Not to build new towns."
So do the Germans have the right to fault the Russians
For advancing their awesome front
Right up to the Prussian towns,
Without any intention of fixing them up?
Ne boltai! Collection, Obj: 203992