Arabian Nights "Tale of the Bull and the Ass."

Summary

A 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

00:00

🐂 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.

05:02

🐕 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.

Keywords

💡Merchant

A merchant is a person who trades in commodities or services, often on a large scale. In the context of the video, the merchant is a wealthy individual who owns multiple farms and livestock. He possesses a unique ability that is central to the story's conflict, which is his understanding of the language of animals. His character represents the intersection of wealth, power, and the moral dilemma of keeping secrets.

💡Oath

An oath is a solemn promise, often invoking a sense of duty or a consequence for breaking it. In the video, the merchant is under a strict oath not to reveal what he hears from the animals, with the threat of death if he does. This keyword is crucial as it sets the stage for the moral conflict and the merchant's internal struggle between his curiosity and the dire consequences of breaking his word.

💡Animal Language

The concept of animal language in the video is a fantasy element where the merchant can understand what animals say. This ability is the catalyst for the story, as it allows the merchant to overhear the conversation between the ox and the donkey, which leads to a series of events that challenge the status quo and the merchant's integrity.

💡Envy

Envy is a feeling of discontent and desire for what someone else has. In the script, the ox expresses envy towards the donkey's perceived easy life, believing the donkey is better cared for and has an easier job. This emotion drives the ox to seek change, illustrating how envy can lead to actions that disrupt the natural order and cause unintended consequences.

💡Advice

Advice in the video is the guidance or recommendations given by one character to another. The donkey gives the ox advice on how to change its treatment by the farmer, which backfires and leads to the donkey's own suffering. This keyword highlights the theme of unintended consequences and the complexity of offering advice without fully understanding the situation.

💡Cooperation

Cooperation here refers to the willingness to work together, which the ox initially lacks when he decides to follow the donkey's advice. The ox's refusal to cooperate leads to a shift in roles, where the donkey ends up having to work in the ox's place. This keyword is significant as it underscores the importance of cooperation and the potential repercussions of non-compliance.

💡Punishment

Punishment in the video is the consequence faced by the donkey for giving bad advice. The merchant, realizing the donkey's role in the ox's behavior, decides to punish the donkey by making it work as an ox. This keyword is central to the story's moral lesson about the repercussions of one's actions and the importance of wisdom in counsel.

💡Disobedience

Disobedience is the act of refusing to comply with a command or request. The ox's disobedience, as advised by the donkey, is a pivotal moment in the story. It challenges the established order and leads to a series of events that ultimately result in the donkey's punishment, demonstrating the potential negative outcomes of disobedience.

💡Secret

A secret in the video is information that is kept hidden from others. The merchant's ability to understand animals is a secret he must keep, as revealing it would cost him his life. This keyword is integral to the narrative, as it creates tension and drives the plot forward, culminating in the merchant's struggle to keep his secret from his wife.

💡Curiosity

Curiosity is the desire to learn or know something. In the video, the merchant's wife's curiosity about her husband's laughter leads to a series of events that threaten the merchant's life. This keyword is significant as it explores the theme of the potential dangers of curiosity when it interferes with secrets that are meant to be kept.

💡Foolishness

Foolishness in the video refers to a lack of good sense or judgment. The merchant's wife is accused of foolishness for her insistence on knowing the secret, despite the potential cost to her husband's life. This keyword is used to critique the wife's actions and to highlight the importance of understanding the consequences of one's demands.

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

[Music]