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By Root 2772 0

must go, ah yes. But youth is only being in a way like it might be an animal. No, it is not just like being an animal so much as being one of these malenky toys you viddy being sold in the streets, like little chellovecks made out of tin and with a spring inside and then a winding handle on the outside and you wind it up grrr grrr grrr and off it itties, like walking, O my brothers. But it itties in a straight line and bangs straight into things bang bang and it cannot help what it is doing. Being young is like being like one of these malenky machines. My son, my son. When I had my son I would explain all that to him when he was starry enough to like understand. But then I knew he would not understand or would not want to understand at all and would do all the veshches I had done, yes perhaps even killing some poor starry forella surrounded with mewing kots and koshkas, and I would not be able to really stop him. And nor would he be able to stop his own son, brothers. And so it would itty on until like the end of the world, round and round and round, like some bolshy gigantic like chelloveck, like old Bog Himself (by courtesy of Korova Milkbar) turning and turning and turning a vonny grahzny orange in his gigantic rookers.

But first of all, brothers, there was this veshch of finding some devotchka or other who would be a mother to this son. I would have to start on that tomorrow, I kept thinking. That was something like new to do. That was something I would have to get started on, a new like chapter beginning.

That’s what it’s going to be then, brothers, as I come to the like end of this tale. You have been everywhere with your little droog Alex, suffering with him, and you have viddied some of the most grahzny bratchnies old Bog ever made, all on to your old droog Alex. And all it was was that I was young. But now as I end this story, brothers, I am not young, not no longer, oh no. Alex like groweth up, oh yes. But where I itty now, O my brothers, is all on my oddy knocky, where you cannot go. Tomorrow is all like sweet flowers and the turning vonny earth and the stars and the old Luna up there and your old droog Alex all on his oddy knocky seeking like a mate. And all that cal. A terrible grahzny vonny world, really, O my brothers. And so farewell from your little droog. And to all others in this story profound shooms of lipmusic brrrrrr. And they can kiss my sharries. But you, O my brothers, remember sometimes thy little Alex that was. Amen. And all that cal.

Glossary of Nadsat Language

Words that do not appear to be of Russian origin are distinguished by asterisks. (For help with the Russian, I am indebted to the kindness of my colleague Nora Montesinos and a number of correspondents.)

*appy polly loggy - apology

baboochka - old woman

*baddiwad - bad

banda - band

bezoomny - mad

biblio - library

bitva - battle

Bog - God

bolnoy - sick

bolshy - big,

great brat, bratty - brother

bratchny - bastard

britva - razor

brooko - belly

brosay - to throw

bugatty - rich c

al - feces

*cancer - cigarette

cantora - office

carman - pocket

chai - tea

choodesny - wonderful

*chumble - to mumble

clop - to knock

cluve - beak

collocoll - bell

*crack - to break up or ‘bust’

*crark - to yowl?

crast - to steal or rob;

robbery creech - to shout or scream

*cutter - money

dama - lady

ded - old man

deng - money

devotchka - girl

dobby - good

*dook - trace, ghost

domy - house

dorogoy - dear, valuable

dratsing - fighting

*drencrom - drug

*charles, charlie - chaplain

droog - friend

chasha - cup

*dung - to defecate

chasso - guard

dva - two

cheena - woman

eegra - game

cheest - to wash

eemya - name

chelloveck - person, man,

*eggiweg - egg

fellow

*filly - to play or fool with

chepooka - nonsense

*firegold - drink

*fist - to punch

*flip - wild?

forella - ‘trout’

gazetta - newspaper

glazz - eye

gloopy - stupid

*golly - unit of money

goloss - voice

goober - lip

gooly - to walk

gorlo - throat

govoreet - to speak or talk

grahzny - dirty

loveted - caught

lubbilubbing - making love

*luscious