Board and Ball

In the gym, which is open for everyone,
Where everybody goes in for sports without fatigue,
There was Board, flat and strong,
And next to it lay beautiful elastic Ball.

Ball said: "I'm strong and light,
Take me in your arms and let's play!
You can play any game with me,
You can feel boundless joy!"




Free image from Pixabay



Board smiled and proudly retorted:
"You, Ball, really jumpy and light,
But look at me, I'm strong and steadfast,
I'm the springboard, I will take you to any height!"

"I don't need springboards and heights,
I want to run fast, run faster than anyone!
Only with me people will be happy,
They can play with me, but not with you!"

This dispute boiled, gaining strength,
Board and Ball could not agree.
One wanted to jump, the other wanted to run,
Nobody listened to the opponent's arguments.

Amateur athletes listened to the dispute,
The dispute excited them, no one was left aside,
All gathered around Board and Ball
To discuss the problem and find the truth.

Someone agreed with Ball, someone with Board,
Someone ran to the boxing section for help,
And someone took a knife out of his pocket.
Author of this fable barely managed to escape.

And here's what I'll tell you, dear listeners.
Disputes are different, boorish and amicable,
Disputes between professors and drug addicts,
There are different disputes, with laughter and tears.

But there's one kind of disputes you need to remember,
These are disputes that do not concern you.
Whatever the discussion was, always pass by,
And then you will be able to get home unharmed.
Here I am, for example, yesterday almost did not injured,
Only lost shoes when I fled from insane sport carnage.



The original text was written by me in Russian. I haven't studied English systematically so the translation may not be ideal. The main work was done by Google Translate, I just corrected obvious absurdities, where I noticed them and where I did not confuse them with brilliant insights.