Arabian Nights "Tale of the Bull and the Ass."
Summary
TLDRA wealthy merchant, gifted with the ability to understand animal speech, overhears an ox envying a donkey's easy life. The donkey advises defiance, leading the ox to act out and feign sickness. The merchant, realizing the donkey's mischief, punishes him by making him work like an ox. Later, the donkey tricks the ox again, prompting the merchant to listen in on their conversation, which leads to a humorous revelation and a moral lesson about the consequences of heedless advice.
Takeaways
- 🐂 The merchant's ox envies the donkey's life, believing it to be easier and better cared for.
- 🗣️ The donkey advises the ox to resist and assert itself to improve its treatment.
- 👨🌾 The ox follows the donkey's advice, refusing to work and making a scene, which leads to it being perceived as sick.
- 🔄 The merchant, understanding the situation, decides to punish the donkey by making it take the ox's place.
- 💡 The donkey, now suffering, realizes its mistake and tries to warn the ox about the merchant's plan to kill it.
- 🤫 The merchant overhears the donkey's warning to the ox and decides to listen in on their conversation.
- 😄 The merchant's wife is curious about why her husband is laughing and demands to know the reason.
- 🚫 The merchant refuses to share the secret, as revealing it would mean his death.
- 😭 The wife's stubbornness and insistence on knowing the secret leads to emotional distress within the family.
- 🐶 The merchant's dog suggests a harsh solution to the wife's stubbornness, advising the use of a stick to make her comply.
Q & A
What unique ability does the wealthy merchant possess?
-The wealthy merchant has the unique ability to understand the language of animals.
What is the strict oath the merchant is under regarding his ability?
-The merchant is under a strict oath not to reveal what he hears from the animals, or he will face death.
What advice does the donkey give to the ox about its treatment?
-The donkey advises the ox to stand up for itself, use its horns to push people away, and refuse to eat the bad food given to it.
How does the ox react to the donkey's advice?
-The ox follows the donkey's advice, becomes uncooperative, refuses to work, and makes a scene when the farmer tries to tie it to the stall.
What happens to the donkey as a result of the ox's actions?
-The donkey is forced to pull the plow all day and is beaten so much that it returns to the stall barely able to move.
Why does the merchant decide to listen to the animals' conversation at night?
-The merchant is curious about the poor treatment of the donkey and wants to understand the conversation between the donkey and the ox.
What does the donkey overhear the merchant saying about the ox?
-The donkey overhears the merchant saying that since the ox can neither eat nor support itself, he wishes for the ox to be killed the next day.
What does the donkey advise the ox to do to avoid being killed?
-The donkey advises the ox to start eating immediately when food is brought to it, so the merchant will think the ox has recovered and may revoke the order for its death.
Why does the merchant's wife demand to know the reason for his laughter?
-The merchant's wife is curious and wants to know the reason for his laughter so that she can join in and understand the situation.
What does the merchant's wife threaten to do if he does not reveal the secret?
-The merchant's wife threatens to leave him in anger if he does not reveal the secret behind his laughter.
What advice does the merchant's pet dog give him regarding his wife's stubbornness?
-The pet dog advises the merchant to get a big stick and not hesitate to use it, suggesting that this will make his wife understand and stop pressuring him to reveal the secret.
Outlines
🐂 The Ox and the Donkey's Advice
The wealthy merchant, who had the unique ability to understand animals' language, overheard a conversation between an ox and a donkey. The ox expressed envy for the donkey's life, which seemed easier with better care and food. The donkey advised the ox to resist work and show defiance to improve its treatment. The ox followed this advice, resulting in the merchant's decision to replace the ox with the donkey for work due to the ox's sudden uncooperative behavior. The donkey, unaccustomed to such labor, suffered greatly and returned to the stall half-dead.
🐕 The Dog's Solution to a Stubborn Wife
The merchant, bound by a secret, faced a dilemma with his wife who demanded to know a secret conversation between the ox and the donkey, threatening to leave him if not told. Despite his attempts to involve her family and relatives to reason with her, the wife remained adamant. The merchant, at a loss, sought advice from his pet dog, who suggested using a stick to assert control over his wife, implying that firm action might be the solution to her stubbornness.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Merchant
💡Oath
💡Animal Language
💡Envy
💡Advice
💡Cooperation
💡Punishment
💡Disobedience
💡Secret
💡Curiosity
💡Foolishness
Highlights
The merchant had a unique ability to understand animal language.
The merchant was under a strict oath not to reveal what he heard from animals.
The ox expressed envy for the donkey's life of leisure and care.
The donkey advised the ox to resist and assert himself to improve his treatment.
The ox followed the donkey's advice and refused to work the next day.
The merchant realized the ox was acting on the donkey's advice.
The donkey was forced to pull the plow as punishment for his meddling.
The donkey's plan backfired, and he suffered greatly from the labor.
The merchant and his wife eavesdropped on the donkey and ox's conversation.
The donkey warned the ox that the merchant planned to kill him.
The donkey advised the ox to eat to avoid being killed.
The merchant's wife was curious about why her husband laughed.
The merchant refused to share the secret, fearing for his life.
The wife threatened to leave unless the merchant revealed the secret.
The merchant sought help from her parents and relatives to no avail.
The merchant's children also tried to convince their mother but failed.
The merchant's dog suggested using a stick to discipline the wife.
The moral of the story is that sometimes advice can have unintended consequences.
Transcripts
a wealthy Merchant owned multiple farms
in the countryside where he raised
various types of livestock he had a
unique ability to understand the
language of animals but was under a
strict oath not to reveal what he heard
or face death one day he placed an ox
and a donkey in the same stall and sat
nearby to listen the ox said to the
donkey I can't help but envy your life
you have a caretaker who tends to you
washing you and feeding you with high
quality barley giving you fresh water
your only job is to carry your master my
fate is not as fortunate I'm hitched to
apply for the entire day and pushed on
with a prod by the farmer the weight and
force of the plow causes my neck to
become raw and sore after working from
morning till night I am given poor
quality food can you not see that I have
good reason to be envious of your life
the ox had finished speaking the donkey
responded I assure you they would not
treat you this way if you stood up for
yourself when they come to tie you to
the manger why don't you put up a fight
why don't you use your horns to push
them away or show your anger by stomping
your feet why don't you intimidate them
with your Bellows Nature has given you
the means to earn respect but you choose
not to use them
the donkey continued they bring you bad
beans and Chef well don't eat them just
smell them and leave them if you follow
my advice you will soon see a change for
the better and be grateful to me the ox
was grateful for the asses advice and
made a point to follow it the next
morning the farmer came to take the ox
out to plow as usual but the ox having
remembered the ass's advice was quite
uncooperative he did not want to work he
made a lot of noise refusing to be tied
to the stall at night he used his horns
to repel the farmer who tries to fasten
him and made a scene just as the ass had
advised the next morning the farmer came
to the stall and found that the manger
still had uneaten food beans and chef
and the ox was lying on the ground
making strange groaning sounds he
thought the ox is burial and it would be
futile to take into work so the farmer
quickly went to tell the merchant the
merchant realized that the ox had
followed the bad advice of the donkey
and his punishment he told the laborer
to take the donkey instead of the ox for
work and to make sure to give him a lot
of exercise
the farmer obeyed and the donkey was
forced to pull the plow the entire day
it was especially tiring for him as he
was not used to it also he got beaten so
much that by the time he returned back
to the stall he was barely able to move
and collapsed half dead the merchant now
understanding the poor treatment of the
ass is curious to know the conversation
between the ass and the ox in this part
he comes out with his wife at night time
and sits close to the stall to listen
here the S is asking the ox what he
plans to do the next day when the farmer
brings him food
the ox replies that he intends to do
what the ass had taught him but the S
then interrupts and warns the ox that he
should be careful as the merchant has
plans to kill the ox as he overheard the
merchants say since the ox can neither
eat nor support himself I wish him to be
killed tomorrow do not therefore fail to
send for the butcher the ass advises the
ox to get up and start eating
immediately when he is brought food this
way the merchant will think that the ox
has recovered and will likely revoke the
order for the ox's death the S believes
that if the ox does not follow this
advice it will be fatal for him the
Merchant's wife is curious about why her
husband burst into laughter and she
wants to know the reason so that she can
join in she asked him tell me what you
laughed at that I may join in it I wish
to know the cause the merchant replies
that satisfaction I cannot afford you I
can only tell you that I laughed at what
the ass said to the ox the rest is a
secret which I must not reveal his wife
asks and why not the merchant States
because if I tell you it will cost me my
life the wife is skeptical of his reason
and thinks he's joking she says you
trifle with me and states that if he
doesn't tell her immediately she will
leave him in Anger she went back to the
house and stayed locked up crying the
whole night the next day when the
husband saw that she was still in the
same state he said how foolish it is to
afflict yourself in this way do I not
seriously tell you that if I were to
yield to your foolish opportunities it
would cost me my life
the merchant seeing that it was not
possible to make his wife change her
mind and that her obstinacy will lead to
a tragic outcome some and her parents
and other relatives he explains the
situation to them and asked for their
help in convincing her the foolishness
of her actions but she refused all of
their attempts stating that she would
rather dive and give up her demand her
children also realize that nothing can
change her mind and started to cry
bitterly the merchant himself did not
know what to do as the situation becomes
more complicated and emotional after
some time the merchant was sitting by
the door of his house thinking about how
to save his wife whom he loved deeply
and he noticed his pet dog running
towards the in the farmyard and
tells him about the current difficult
situation the then replied how
foolish our Master is he only has one
wife and can't make her see reason while
I have 50 and do whatever I want he
should get a big stick and not hesitate
to use it that way she will know better
and not pressure him to reveal what he
should keep it
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