François-Marie Arouet, known by his nom de plume Voltaire, was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher famous for his wit, his criticism of Christianity—especially the Roman Catholic Church—as well as his advocacy of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and separation of church and state. Wikipedia
It is very possible that not all of you do know him because your cultural background did not point you in his direction. Too bad because he was a real craker-jack smack-down artist. This is one of his most well-known and one that never seems to lose neither its favor nor its flavor:
L'autre jour, au fond d'un vallon,
- Un serpent piqua Jean Fréron.
- Que pensez-vous qu'il arriva ?
- Ce fut le serpent qui creva.
I hereby give myself the privilege of offering you two versions of the same snide attitude straight out of the early 18th century --
The other day on the White
House lawn,
A
lurking viper bit The Don;
What
do you suppose happened then?
The viper died, never to
bite again.
I thought that was OK, but then this crept through the mental cracks. You can choose the one you like.
As Trump walked to board his
aero ride,
A
slinky viper’s fang pierced Don’s hide.
You
all can surmise what came of it;
‘Twas
the viper who died from what he bit!
I'm open to your rendition. I haven't tried it in Spanish. Go ahead, give it a whirl.
(A tip of my hat to Voltaire)
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