Баллада о маленьком человеке (Р. Рождественский)v6

On Earth — ruthlessly small — there lived a little man. He had a little job. And a very little briefcase. He drew a little salary... And one day — one fine morning — a knock came at his window: a little, or so it seemed, war... They issued him a little rifle. They issued him little boots. They issued a little helmet and a little — to his measure — greatcoat. ...And when he fell — ungainly, wrong, his mouth wrenched in a battle cry, there was not enough marble in all the earth to carve the lad to his full height!