The stag was very proud of his swiftness, <br /> Of running ten miles in one breath, <br /> And the wild boar was proud to be fierce, <br /> And the sheep praised her woolly fleece, <br /> And the horse its beauty, and the buck was proud <br /> Of crossing the plain at a bound, <br /> And the one proud of strength was the bull, <br /> The ermine in having a furry skin; <br /> And to them all he said from his shell: <br /> 'The snail will get to Easter just as soon. <br /> <br /> What I see first are lions, leopards, bears, <br /> Running the countryside, wolves and tigers <br /> Under pursuit by greyhound and mastiff <br /> And the shouts of men, so hated that if <br /> They're caught each person will attack, <br /> Because of the destruction of the flock; <br /> They're thieves, treacherous and wicked, <br /> And merciless, and for that detested. <br /> Are they strong and fast? Good at a run? <br /> The snail will get to Easter just as soon. <br /> Many see him and the path he's on, <br /> Enclosed in the shell he carries along, <br /> They don't do him harm, they let him be, <br /> And so he goes from week to week, <br /> As many go in their own poor realm <br /> Who live good lives in their simple gown, <br /> And if the world gives them little at all, <br /> They still go on with its good will. <br /> And cow and calf have the meadow's run, <br /> And the snail will get to Easter just as soon. <br /> <br /> Prince, among the strong, the rich, the great <br /> There's a lesson they rarely think about; <br /> Their haste can't bring the future on: <br /> The snail will get to Easter just as soon.<br /><br />Eustache Deschamps<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/ballade-1/
