Soyuzmultfilm Moscow 1959
SOON THERE WILL BE RAIN A Vietnamese fairy-tale
written by Mihail Volpin, Le Min Khi Yen
directed by Vladimir Polkovnikov art director Aleksandr Trusov
camera Mihail Druyan music Karen Hachaturyan, sound Nikolay Prilutskiy, script editor Arcadiy Snesarev
Assistants: Le Min Hien, Tchyong Kua Ye. Novoselskaya
Leading animators: Fyodor Hitruk, Roman Davydov
animators G. Karavayeva, Marina Voskanyants, A. Grunina, Ye. Vershinina, Viktor Shevkov, Ye. Treskin, Aleksandr Davydov, Galina Barinova,
Vladimir Karp, Valentin Karavayev, Anatoliy Petrov, B. Aliyev, Iosif Kuroyan, Valentin Kushneryov, I. Berezin, V. Haritonova, V. Zarubin, O. Stolbova, G. Zolotovskaya
artists Irina Svetlitsa, V. Valerianova, O. Gemmerling
voice artists Anatoliy Kubatskiy, G. Novozhilova, Yelena Ponsova, Mihail Pogorzhelsky
Croak.
Croak, croak, croak.
This is what it's always like:
If the toads start croaking -
then the rain will come soon.
And you know why?
You don't? Okay, I'll tell you.
Once upon a time...
when there weren't any people on Earth yet,
this happened:
On Zey, the Lord of the Sky,
was playing chess with Old Lady Drought.
Check!
There and there.
Mate.
You've won again...
Well, pick any star.
That one.
No, I don't want to play for stars any more.
I'm sick of stars.
Well, then lets play one more game for something else you'd like.
Well, all right. I agree.
- Let's play for the waterfalls. - For the waterfalls?
And why should you, Mrs. Drought, want waterfalls?
Oh, esteemed On Zey,
O great and wise Lord of the Sky,
Don't you know that the waterfalls -
are the main source of all the water on Earth?
But who could dislike water, dear Drought?
I dislike it, I do.
Water is life.
And who could dislike life, Mrs. Drought?
Me!
Remember, honorable On Zey,
We spoke about it two million years ago?
Wait a minute, wait a minute...
I might recall something.
I begged you not to give the Earth even a single drop of water.
Ah, well, well, well, I vaguely remember something like that.
Set up your pieces, please.
But you did not listen to me, Lord of the sky.
- And what happened? - What happened?
The Earth started to be covered with flowers and grasses.
That's right - flowers and grasses.
And then fish!
- And birds! - Right, right.
- Then animals! - Then the animals.
If this continues, there may even appear humans.
Humans will certainly appear.
But the humans will struggle with drought.
Until one day they will destroy me.
They certainly will.
That's why I want the waterfalls.
Well, if you want them, we'll play for them. Your move.
To sate their thirst the wild beasts go,
They take the wild trails that they know,
In water they shall dip their tongue,
To water do they lead their young.
To that place the beasts go, afoot,
Where water springs at mountain's foot.
Where it runs forth so swift and clear,
Descending from the mountains sheer.
Check!
Mate.
Yes...
Well, sighing won't make the trouble go away.
Follow me, fellow beasts!
Over the mountain here, there should be a river.
A wonderful river.
Oh, I have no luck in chess today.
Listen here, Drought, let's play one more game.
Please. For whatever you want!
For all the rivers and streams, that there are on the Earth.
Do you agree?
If you want the rivers, we'll play for the rivers.
And the streams.
Shall we sing?
To sate their thirst the wild beasts go,
They take the wild trails that they know,
In water they shall dip their tongue,
To water do they lead their young.
Checkmate!
Tell me, please, fish, wasn't there a river nearby?
There was.
Only it has suddenly disappeared.
Only some wet stones and this little puddle are left.
Dear animals, just today
my little girl has hatched from the egg.
She is still a baby.
Do not drink, please, from this puddle.
You'll drink it all up.
You yourself will not get enough,
but my daughter will die.
Thank you, kind elephant.
You had better go straight on over the rocks.
This river used to flow into a very deep lake
there you should be able to drink your fill.
Well, let's play another round.
I beg of you, honorable Drought, just one more round.
- The last one. - All right.
For the lakes.
For all of the lakes that there are on Earth.
Shall we sing?
Yeah, I really have lost.
Strange, I thought I was winning.
It's a disaster, animals, a disaster.
A million years I have slept on the bottom of this lake.
And suddenly all the water has been swept upwards.
Bad news for you.
And bad news for me, too.
What can be done?
Very, very high up, atop a stone column
lives On Zey in his palace -
the Lord of the Sky.
Let us go to him to complain.
Well, here's the plan, animals -
You wait for me down here.
Look after our children.
But Bear, Tiger and Fox will come with me.
Wait over there by those stones for me
while I go and have a talk with On Zey.
Hey you, fighting roosters, come here!
There's a toad from earth ringing the gong.
The worthless creature wants to sneak into the palace.
I order you to peck this toad!
And throw it back down to Earth!
Is that understood!? - Understood!
If you want to fight, let's fight.
But let me put on my battle armor first.
Just a minute.
Cock-a-doodle-doo! Ko-ko-ko.
Hey, you watchdogs, come here!
If you want to fight, let's fight.
But wait a minute, now! Let me put on my battle armor.
[Barking and whining]
If you want to fight, let's fight.
But wait a minute, let me put on my battle armor.
O great Lord of the Sky, what have you done?
Yes, yes.
I had a horrible day today, with no luck.
How did you get here, wretched creature?
I climbed up the stone pillar.
Well, well...
and how did the guards miss you?
I broke through their blockade.
Well, well...
And what do you want?
O great Lord of the Sky,
you have left Earth without a single drop of water.
Ai-yi-yi!
Well, what can you do, I lost all the water in a chess match.
And your heart, did you...
lose that as well?
Look at what is happening on Earth.
Ai-yi-yi.
How terribly unfortunate...
but it cannot be helped.
I lost all the water to Drought.
First the waterfalls, then the rivers, and then the lakes.
And the clouds?
The rain clouds... did you lose them too?
No, don't be silly.
We never even played for those.
The clouds?
This is wonderful.
Most importantly... I have as many as you want.
Follow me, toad.
On Zey can, you may be sure,
Many sorts of clouds procure.
He's got clouds both far and near,
Clouds up there and clouds down here.
Clouds as shaggy as a bear,
Long, fish-shaped clouds - they're all there.
Yes, Our Majesty has clouds
In prodigious amounts.
Under lock and key, I now have all the water of the earth.
It no longer can threaten or harm me.
Under lock and key, I now have all the water of the earth.
What is this?
Where do you think you're going?
Halt!
You really must excuse me...
I got carried away.
Never mind, it can happen to anyone.
Goodbye, Lord of the Sky.
Thank you, and good luck.
Next time, dear toad,
you will not have to make such a difficult journey.
If you need anything, just yell out to me from the Earth!
So now you know
why people say:
"The toad croaks before the rain."
The End Subs by Eus (2013) revised by Niffiwan (2023)