He went with his wife and
family to one of those estates, in order to improve it himself.
He had the gift of understanding the language of beasts, but with
this condition, that he should interpret it to nobody on pain of
death; and this hindered him from communicating to others what he
had learned by means of this gift.
He had in the same stall an ox and an ass; and one day as he sat
near them, and diverted himself to see his children play about,
him, he heard the ox say to the ass, Sprightly, O how happy do I
think you, when I consider the ease you enjoy, and the little
labour that is required of you! you are carefully rubbed down and
washed; you have well-dressed corn, and fresh clean water. Your
greatest business is to carry the merchant, our master, when he
has any little journey to make; and, were it not for that, you
would be perfectly idle. I am treated in a quite different
manner, and my condition is as unfortunate as yours is pleasant.
It is scarce day-light when I am fastened to a plough, and there
they make me work till night, to till up the ground, which
fatigues me so, that sometimes my strength fails me. Besides, the
labourer, who is always behind me, beats me continually. By
drawing the plough my tail is all flead; and, in short, after
having laboured from morning till night, when I am brought in,
they give me nothing to eat but sorry dry beans, not so much as
cleaned from sand, or other things as pernicious; and, to
heighten my misery, when I have filled my belly with such
ordinary stuff, I am forced to lie all night in my own dung; so
that you see I have reason to envy your lot.
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