Poems and Songs of Vladimir Vysotsky. In a Faraway Kingdom.
Commentary to the song “An Unusual Fable”.
As Wird Khan, who is narrated in “The History of King Wird Khan, son of King Jali‘ad, with His Women and Viziers”, which is one of the stories of “The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night”, would say, the first king, despite of being a fraud, was assiduous in furthering three things that are predefined for him who is invested with the kingship: the fostering of the faith, the fostering of his subjects and the fostering of government — and has led his kingdom to prosperity, while the second king, being an egregious boor, breached his devoir to [was scornful of the rights and aspirations of] his subjects, what leads to the ruin of the king and the loss of his kingdom and fortune — and has put his kingdom in a very dangerous position. And the third king, being always ready for a brawl, has begun to pursue a policy leading to the complete absorption of his kingdom by neighboring kingdoms or, at best, to a significant reduction of its territory.
And, here it can be drawn a parallel between Porphyry Ivanov, peace be upon him, who has walked barefoot and almost naked across Rossia and Ukraine during fifty years, and the Prophet Isaiah, peace be upon him, who had walked barefoot and naked for a sign and a wonder concerning Egypt and Ethiopia during three years.
The presented text is adapted from George Tokarev’s translation.