THE MOUNTAIN AND THE
SQUIRREL
“The Mountain And The Squirrel” is a
humorous and satirical poem written by the American poet and essayist Ralph
Waldo Emerson . He was born at Boston on 25 May 1803 and died at Concord on 27
April 1882.
Asa writer, he is best remembered for
leading the 19th century transcendentalist movement in his country.
Transcendentalism is a philosophical
movement. It emphasizes intuition, individualism, and the inherent goodness of
people and nature.
Emerson believed in a shared, universal
divine spirit known as the “Over-Soul” which stands for a direct connection
between the individual soul and God. It also lays emphasis on self-reliance and
idealism whereby the superiority of the spiritual world has an upper hand over
the physical one.
In his poem “The Mountain And The Squirrel” which
is reproduced below, Emerson deals with the relationship between the natural
world and human beings; the former is represented by the mountain, and the
latter by the squirrel.
Both the mountain and the squirrel
are unique due to their individualistic
. Whether somebody is huge or small is immaterial.
All beings are to be judged by their own
peculiar qualities.
The poem ends with the following lines
spoken by the squirrel which is a much smaller
creature than the mountain:
Talents
differ; all is well and wisely put;
If
I cannot carry forests on my back,
Neither
can you crack a nut.
What
follows is the full text of the poem :
The mountain and the squirrel
Had a quarrel,
And the former called the latter
"Little prig."
Bun replied,
"You are doubtless very big;
But all sorts of things and weather
Must be taken in together
To make up a year
And a sphere.
And I think it no disgrace
To occupy my place.
If I'm not so large as you,
You are not so small as I,
And not half so spry:
I'll not deny you make
A very pretty squirrel track.
Talents differ; all is well and
wisely put;
If I cannot carry forests on my back,
Neither can you crack a nut."
********
G. R. Kanwal
14 April 2026
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