The Bull And The Ass
This is one of the great short stories of Arabian Nights for kids. Long, long time ago, there lived a gifted merchant. He had a bull and an ass on his farm. The merchant was able to understand the language of the animals. It was a god gift from his birth. The bull was used to plough the fields while the ass used to carry the goods to the market for sale. So, both the animals helped him very much.
One day, the bull and the ass were taking their food in the garden. While having their fodder, the ass was talking to the bull in a low voice. At that time the farmer was passing by his farm. He heard the voice of the ass and quickly hid behind a big tree to listen what both the animals were talking. You may also like to read, The Horse And The Donkey.
Short Stories Of Arabian Nights
Image Source–> www.youtube.com The ass felt sorry for the bull as it was worked so hard all throughout the day in the fields. On the other hand, the ass just carried very little load only in the evening. The ass said, “I am eating food the whole day, but I work very little. But you work hard for the whole day with the same food I have.” The bull said, “You are right, my friend! But I cannot go against the master.” The ass gave an idea to the bull that it should pretend as if it was sick. The bull also accepted it happily. The farmer overheard their conversation and was ready to face the situation.
On the next day, the farmer went to the backyard with an idea. He went near the bull to take it to the fields. The bull quickly said in a low voice that he could not even move his legs. When the fodder was served, the bull denied eating its portion as well. Now the farmer readily agreed and said, “Okay, you can take rest today. I will take the ass along with me today.” Also, read The Story Of Ferdinand.
So he moved towards the ass and dragged the ass with him to the field to plough. That day, the ass had to work in the fields The ass worked really very hard. The ass came back in the evening in a totally exhausted condition. The bull cheered the ass and said, “I shall act to be sick tomorrow also and take rest.”
“No, No! Don’t pretend further!” the ass said. “The farmer was very angry with you today because I could not satisfy him”. Further, the ass told the bull that the farmer was ready to sell it to a butcher if it acted further. So the ass asked the bull to get up early in the morning.
“We should not hesitate to do our work,” the Ass said. The farmer overheard the conversation once again. He smiled and thought that the ass had learned his lesson. It also advised the bull to work faithfully for its master. Also, read The Miller, His Son, And The Donkey.
Here is a visual depiction of one of the best short stories of Arabian Nights, “The Bull And The Ass”. See the video story below,