Оборотень-князь [Oboroten Knyas] [English translation]

Not the farmer who plows the earth

But a raven who knits the sky into clouds

In ancient Polotsk the bells are ringing

Long have there been rumours about the prince

The shadow of a wolf in the sky

Stop working for the day

Avoiding the soldiers passing by

A wizard and a changeling the prince is

The Moon's face creeps across the sky

From the east to the south

The hunt for enemies shall soon begin

Midnight is near - the skies redden, threatening

The Prince is ready to work wonders

The enemy blades are terrible

No man can overcome them

But, in wolven shape, the Prince

Leads his soldiers forward, laughing

Terrifying is he

A beast, not a man

He'll kill on the spot

Or maim for life

The enemy horde darkens the riverbank

The Wolf will need his claws and teeth

The birds fled to the forest, the fish sank to the depths

The plains are empty, swept clean by fear

Deathcries and bloodied grass

And the Prince's warband is a pack, alive

It is good to be a beast

And to drink the wine of victory

The duty that he's bound to is fulfilled

But why is then the Wolf so gloomy?

The dogs are dead

But with bitter tears

Has the victory been woven

The Prince hears the Princess' prayer

Grow not in the path of grain,

Raven stone in the desert

The warriors, brave as beasts,

Cut the darkness with their bodies

Dry their wounds, oh Wind

Lead them away from death

Do not sweep him away, oh Styx

Bring my beloved husband back, unharmed

Sun, oh holy father, let the Prince shed his fur

So that he comes back to his ancestral home

As a man unchanged

Let your rays grab the foes' arrows and swords

Grunts and flashing teeth

Let the night's bloody battle be a dream

That never happened!

The seer swore yesterday before the fight

That the Prince shall not be a wolf.

Your sons, the wolflings, wait at home

The night's sorcery has been undone

Return with the rising sun, my falcon

Cast away the beast and hurry home

Dawn breaks apart the night

And the terrible beast cries

He did not betray the princess

The last battle, the war is over

Dawn replaced the night

He shouts to his warband

"I am returning to my wife,

Finish the war! A wolf I'm not,

But a prince, a prince again."

• Artist:Pelageya