A haughty skeleton sits pouting
Beside a short-tailed dwarf. . . and
Is half a crane and half a cat.
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More wondrous still and still more fearful:
A crab upon a spider sat;
On goose's neck a skull seemed cheerful,
While spinning round in bright red hat;
A windmill there was squat-jig dancing
And cracked and waved its sails while prancing;
Guffawing, barking, whistles, claps,
And human speech and hoofbeat taps!
But what was Tanya's stunned reaction
When mid the guests she recognized
The one she feared, the one she prized
The hero of our novel's action!
Onegin sits amid the roar
And glances slyly through the door.
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He gives a signthe others hustle;
He drinksall drink and all grow shrill;
He laughsthey all guffaw and bustle;
He frownsand all of them grow still.
He's master here, there's no mistaking;
And Tanya, now no longer quaking,
Turns curious to see still more
And pushes slightly on the door. . . .
The sudden gust of wind surprises
The band of goblins, putting out
The night-time lanterns all about;
His eyes aflame, Onegin rises
And strikes his chair against the floor;
All rise; he marches to the door.
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And fear assails her; in a panic
She tries to flee . . . but feels too weak;
In anguished writhing, almost manic,
She wants to scream . . . but cannot speak;
Eugene throws wide the door, revealing
To monstrous looks and hellish squealing
Her slender form; fierce cackles sound
In savage glee; all eyes turn round,
All hooves and trunksgrotesque and curving,
And whiskers, tusks, and tufted tails,
Red bloody tongues and snouts and nails,
Huge horns and bony fingers swerving
All point at her and all combine
To shout as one: 'She's mine! She's mine!'
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