Art and poetry on page and stage
11
Harry Lewis
Translation of Vladimir Mayakovsky's 1917
Little Red Hat (A Fairy Tale)
Once upon a time there was a little Cadet a proper little Constitutional Democrate and this little cadet wore a little red hat. He was a neat little fellow: except for that hat there was not a bit of red in him... not at all. When that little Cadet heard that the Revolution had begun he made sure his little red hat was secure and very visible on his little cadet head. And all the Cadets lived happy rolling in clover: DaddyCadet Grandpa Cadet. One big bunch of content fellows... until One day a great wind blew through their happy little state and blew the hats off their heads and tore his little red hat to pieces. Oh what a sweet red hat he had But his true color was black. The Revolution true red wolf caught them all and we all know what big mouths wolves have all the better to feed the big belly of October! In one gulp he ate that Cadet! Swallowed him whole. so: Children don’t forget... if you join in politics you might get eaten up. This is the moral of the tale of the Little Cadet and His Little Red Hat.