There are the two sweethearts
In the ramshackle house of Setner:
They are having a scanty supper
At the low and wretched table.
Setner’s mother has brought
Sour milk from the neighbours
She’s got the salt in the salt-cellar
And the hunk of bread on the table.
The young are speaking lively
While having supper.
The old mother standing aside
Is silently listening to their words.
They are remembering peaceful days,
Of the round dances and gatherings,
Of happy pre-Simek evenings.
Suddenly, somebody’s feet hammered
In the passage outside
And the old Mikheter has entered
The house with his old wife.

The mother:
We have come to find out
If our daughter is here.
The kind people have said
She is here… Oh, here she is!

Mikheter:
Oh, daughter, daughter, are you our daughter?
How could you dare Disgrace me in front of
These honest people?
What on earth were you dissatisfied with?
What on earth didn’t you have?
What do you like Setner for,
My dear daughter?
What does he have, this poor man?
How could you behave like this,
The daughter of the rich parents?
You’ve cast a stain on the old father.

The mother:
Why did she, silly thing, have
To kill her husband
And to walk with the bad lot Setner
In the night forest?

Mikheter:
Thank God, I have never heard
A bad word in my life.
My peace has never been
Broken even by Kiremet.
My house has always been
Taken care by Pireshti.
That’s why everybody in the village
Respected and honoured me.
I was marked by Pulekh,
I was loved by Kharban.
The blue sky and the bright sun
Have given me the true wealth.
Now, however, I have been bowed
Too low with my grey head.
My bright day has been shadowed
By your black deed.

The mother (to Mikheter):
You should scold Setner,
He should know his place!
He shouldn’t grasp our daughter
By his callous hands!

Mikheter:
I have been taking care of her
Since early age.
I have been saving up for her
My wealth for ages.
I haven’t had a wink of sleep
In the dark night and
In the bright day
For my daughter’s sake.
I have been thinking hard
How to make her a good match;
I was trying hard to find
A rich bridegroom for her.
I have married her,
I have arranged a wedding party!
Such a misfortune!
Evidently, it is all over, when my head is grey?

The mother:
You don’t take pity upon your old mother
I wish the floor would open beneath your feet!
Who has brought you up? Wasn’t it me,
Who took care of your destiny?

Mikheter:
I have been taking care of you
Since your early age.
And everybody admired you.
You, my daughter, has killed me today.
You have ignored our will,
Haven’t spared your mother’s
And father’s grey old heads
Because of this poor Setner.
Not even all our wealth
And words have helped you.
Even a fool wouldn’t have behaved
Like this with such a bridegroom!

Narspi:
Oh, my parents! How could I
Live with such a mean old man?
Good is not in wealth; good –
Is in the man, only in him.

The mother:
Hush, you, minx, it is enough,
Close your lips and do not chat,
You are making your mother suffer,
And you will be punished by God!

Mikheter:
You’ve put me to such a shame!
What will people say?
“Don’t forget about your daughter, you, old man”,
They will talk and point at me.
However, for them, the chatter-boxes,
Not to gossip day and night,
No matter that you’ve lost your honour,
You are still my daughter.
Let’s leave that shabby house,
Let us do it quicker, daughter.
And we’ll find you a new husband
Until you are not all withered with shame.
Don’t grieve, Narspi, let’s return,
Your father is still alive, you know
And he is still well off,
No matter that your honour has been lost.

The mother:
Let’s go away quickly, you, the dog!
You’d better listen to your mother…
You, Setner, shameless dog, should know:
You are not a son-in-law to the rich!

Narspi:
Oh, my father, my father,
Why are you reproaching me now?
Why are you calling the daughter
Who disgraced you..?

The mother:
You only listen to what she is saying!
Listen to your daughter!

Mikheter:
That’s it, old woman! Keep silent!
Let’s listen to what she has to say.

Narspi:
Being not a girl, a wife,
Why should I return home?
Again to marry the unloved?
Again to suffer, and to grieve?
No, father, don’t you ask me:
I won’t return home.
It’s too late. After all the troubles
I won’t wait for a bridegroom any more.
It’s right. You brought me up,
You loved your daughter;
But I have grown up,
And you failed to see my soul.
I kept asking you, I kept begging you
I pleaded tearfully;
And at that last and horrible hour
I was lying at your feet.
Yes, you brought your daughter up
And for the money
You’ve sold her away,
Thus you have ruined her life.
In my childhood you used to say
You loved me so.
You gave me everything
I wanted, in your house.
I begged the father to wait
For only a year,
But he scolded me severely
And my mother pulled me by the hair.
Oh, why you, my dear father,
Didn’t only fulfil my innermost desire!
I would now be different.
Everything would be different now.
Oh, why did you let the greedy wolf
Has your daughter only?
You were looking for your happiness
Hoping that it was in money.
You are the only one guilty
For all my sufferings and torments.
And if Setner is not your son-in-law
I will not remain your daughter.
Oh, my parents, I ask you
To give us your blessing.
We will all live now
In peace and love forever.

The mother:
Your daughter is talking nonsense!
This devil Setner has evidently tempted her!
Let us not care about her,
Let us leave her alone and return home.

Mikheter:
You, Setner, remember this!
You have ruined my daughter.
And you, cruel daughter, live
In this hut without a chimney.
The time will come
And you’ll return to your father’s house!
And you will understand
That your father wished you good.
Now, let us, my wife go
Let us return home
We have nothing left to say
To our dear daughter.

The mother:
Suffer and pine here
Like naked boughs!
Live a dog’s life
Until your bones ..!
Cursing their own daughter
The mother and father retired.
In the street the mother
Is still using bad language.
The sun went down ashamed.
The dark has come.
Setner’s mother is clearing the table,
Giving a deep sigh.