The stream, flowing with a clamor from the mountain top,
Laughed at the river as it quietly flowed nonstop.
Water ran short at the mountain when the snows did melt,
Until at last the stream became only a streamlet.
What is worse, what had started out with a hue and scream
Plunged full into the river and ceased to be a stream.
From Fables and Parables (1779) by Ignacy Krasicki, translated by Christopher Kasparek
