One harsh winter an elephant of
ice
Stood in St. Petersburg. A sergeant,
By order of the Empress Anna, sat
inside,
Wrapped in furs, making horn calls
Except when he was drunk (Who so
cruel
As to leave a cold soldier without
vodka?)
When that happened, the guards
would seize
Some street performer too slow to
evade them.
Then the elephant would make bird
calls
Or tell jokes about Tatars and
Cossacks.
For three years after, it was
said,
The sergeant’s lips and ears were
blue.
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