Zmaj ("Dragon") was born in Novi Sad. He finished elementary school in Novi Sad, secondary school in Bratislava after that he studied in Budapest, Praha and Vienna. In 1870 he came back to Novi Sad to work as a doctor.
He was writing in all genres of poetry: from love and lyric, over patriotic and political to youth's and educational. But he is most well known for his children's poetry. His nursery rhymes have entered national consciousness and people sing them to their children even without knowing who wrote them.
;Tell me, tell ;Tell me, tell, ;How should I call you; ;Tell me, which ;Name I should give you, - ;Will I my "pride" ;Or my "strength" veneer, ;Or will I "treasure" ;Or "my little deer", ;Will I "soul", ;or "my dear" - ;Tell me, which ;name I should give you! ;Each of these is a sweet ;And beautiful name ;with which a Serb ;His gold will nickname; ;But I would spend ;One whole life ;Searching for beautier, ;Prouder and sweeter, ;Dearer name, ;yet unheard by world ;to call with it ;my flower yet furled.
| ;Roses VII ;Moonlight, - but without the moon; ;My sweet dear dreamt a green wreath here, ;And in sleep she laughed a little bit, - ;That's what made the midnight lit.
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;How nice is... ;How nice is ;this world around, ;here's a meadow, ;flowers abound; ;there's a field, ;and here a glade, ;there is sun, ;and here a shade! ;There is Danube, ;with gold laden, ;Here is grass, ;and here a garden, ;A nightingale ;sings its lolliby. ;We listen it, ;my friend and I.
| ;Plant a tree ;Where you find a nice place, ;there you plant a tree! ;For a tree is generous, ;and so it will give. ;It wil give plentyfully ;its sweet fruit and shade, ;it will give either to you ;or to your brother.
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