Napoleon

Children, when was
Napoleon Bonaparte born,
asks the teacher.

Thousand years ago, the children say.
Hundred years ago, the children say.
Last year, the children say.
Nobody knows.

Children, what did
Napoleon Bonaparte do,
asks the teacher.
He won a battle, the children say.
He lost a battle, the children say.
Nobody knows.

At us the butcher had a dog
František says,
he was called Napoleon.
The butcher used to beat him, and the dog died
of hunger
last year.

And now all the children feel sorry for Napoleon.

-Miroslav Holub