Little Bee
by Gavrila Derzhavin

Golden honey bee!
You buzz, but why?
You fly around me, not to the sky…?
Or do you, as I, love my Lisa?

Fragrant honey cells in golden hair,
Roses—can you tell—
On lips so fair, sugar lies as well,
White on her breast.

Golden honey bee!
You buzz, but why?
I hear, with a sigh, you speak to me:
Stuck in the honey, in it I’ll die.

translated by Sylvia des Tombe