1. O jug, why so arrogant and proud?
You are neither crystal, nor made from seashells.

2. You are but as jugs, formed from humble clay,
Molded and raised to be an earthenware vessel.

3. I see you hold your spout up high.
Yet it is soiled from the dust of the earth, undeserving of such pride.

4. It has been grasped by many lowly hands, but does not complain.
Many unworthy mouths have sipped from it, yet it does not flinch.

5. You boast a pride not even matched by the rooster.
Your feathers do not shimmer like those of a peacock.

6. You have no voice that cuts through the gloom of night,
Where memories come alive when it calls.

7. I listen closely to hear what you might say,
As a visitor falls silent before a relic.

8. Moments pass, and I hear you babbling
Like an old man addled by his age.

9. You say "I gave drink to the people." I say "Yes,
You gave them the water of rainclouds had they caught."

10. "I held the tears of streams and springs
That flowed from mountain peaks, fresh and pure."

11. "Let the water mention my great deed,
And exalt me in song for the honor I held," you say.

12. I say "The honor was not yours, but the water's.
You only carried what made you worthy of regard."