(Å. Çàðèíà, ïåðåâîä Åêàòåðèíû Ãàëèöêîé)
Big self-confident stones settled at the brook a long time ago. Some settled along the bank, some dwelt bravely right in the ice water. Sometimes they liked to talk to their restless flowing neighbour, and once a big stone with an oozy side asked:
“Brook, what is the most important thing in your life?”
“Important? To flow, to move and to be clean! That is the eternal life indeed!”
“Hm…” guggled the stone ironically. “I’ve been lying here so long that I remember the childhood of all the pines nearby – and I haven’t moved for an inch! You constantly wash me, but look – have I become cleaner? – Here’s ooze, there’s fungus… Nevertheless, my life is eternal!”
“Oh, my friend! My transparent streams of consciousness don’t understand what happens in your stony heart of hearts… so is difficult for you to imagine my joy of running among woods and meadows towards the large river…”
Philosophical murmur of the brook was interrupted by voices. They spoke with words, so they were humans.
“Look, we can get to the other side by these stones!” a voice said and yellow leather shoes jumped briskly from stone to stone. Then followed brown ones on the thick soles but not so briskly and one brown shoe stepped right into the water. “oh, you are eternally like that!..” the voice laughed on the other side.
“it’s amazing,” mumbled the stone, “I’m sure the shoes are not so lasting as we, however they, too, talk about eternity…”