Today I see your look is especially sad,
And your arms are especially thin, embracing your knees.
Listen: far, far away on Lake Chad
An exquisite giraffe wanders.
He has been granted graceful ease and slenderness,
And his hide is adorned with a magic pattern,
With which only the Moon dares to compare,
Shattering and swaying on the moisture of broad lakes.
In the distance he is like the colored sails of a ship,
And his run is smooth, like a joyful bird's flight.
I know that the earth sees many wonderful things,
When at sunset he hides in a marble grotto.
I know the merry tales of mysterious lands
About a black maiden, about the passion of a young chief,
But you have breathed in the heavy fog for too long,
And how shall I tell you about the tropical garden,
About the slender palm trees, about the smell of unimaginable herbs...
— Are you crying? Listen... far away on Lake Chad
An exquisite giraffe wanders.