Chrząszcz

Chrząszcz (beetle, chafer) by Jan Brzechwa is a poem famous for being one of the hardest-to-pronounce texts in Polish literature, and may cause problems even for adult, native Polish speakers.

The first line "W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie" (In Szczebrzeszyn a beetle buzzes in the reed) is a well-known Polish tongue-twister.

Thanks to the poem, the town of Szczebrzeszyn is widely known in Poland. A monument to the beetle was erected there in 2002, and a yearly sculpture festival has been held there ever since.

Chrząszcz was translated into English by Walter Whipple as Cricket (whose Polish equivalent is also difficult to pronounce for non-Polish speakers: świerszcz).