The Unforgotten.

I lay in a warm cosy bed, and my thoughts
Flew sometimes so placidly, sometimes so boldly.
Behind the dark window, there was a snowstorm,
It sometimes wept bitterly, sometimes sang slowly.
And I recollected as I met a man,
Who easily walked on the lowland snow-bound.
He was with bare feet and dressed only in pants,
His body and broad with the hoarfrost were covered.
I heard that he feared nor hard frost nor great heat,
The blizzard was his very intimate cohort,
The sun only lovingly fingered his skin,
And he left an imprint even on the sea bottom.

When my golden years have vanished away,
One day I was lucky to meet him again.
I asked him about the secret he had,
“Tell me, how Nature can temper a man?”
“The might is contained in the heavy desire,
The hardihood, daring and living with wise.
Such things as caprice and assumption are vice,
So thou shouldst conquer them in a short time.
Be ever polite with old persons and kids,
It’ll be a good point to begin thy road with.
The care of thyself will give thee a good health —
The spring water should be thy intimate friend.
If thou perform’st with sedulity this,
Then Nature won’t keep any secrets from thee.
Go on with perception, to come to the goal,
And mishaps won’t ever occur on thy road.
With will and perception, it’s possible to win
All sorts of diseases if they come on thee.
The labor brings glory, perception gives peace,
These two will insure thy pretension to live.
Be mindful that Nature loves not those who’re weak,
Remember that mind in all incidents wins.
A person of might is he who lives with mind,
He boldly and resolutely strides through his life.”

Since then I’ve performed what I was by him told.
And he again walks with bare feet on the roads,
To bring health to ill-fated people in trouble,
Which he gets for them in the dangerous struggle.
I’ll ever remember this while I’m alive —
That Man in the rough weather in the snow time
Has gained the full victory o’er Mother Nature
With his utmost love to the total creation.