The Oxen And The Wheels

Summary

This short story illustrates the differences in attitudes between those who bear a heavy burden without complaint and those who grumble about minor inconveniences. It presents a scenario where two Oxen are laboriously pulling a heavily loaded wagon through a muddy road, maintaining their silence despite the difficult task at hand. In contrast, the wheels of the wagon, which bear significantly less strain, incessantly creak and groan, adding to the difficulty of the situation. The Oxen eventually voice their annoyance, highlighting the irony of the wheels' complaints given their comparatively minor role. The narrative serves as a moral lesson about the virtues of hard work and patience, pointing out the futility in complaining when others are enduring more significant hardships with resilience and quiet strength. It encourages readers to consider the impact of their complaints on those around them and to appreciate the strength of those who work quietly and diligently.

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A pair of Oxen were drawing a heavily loaded wagon along a miry country road. They had to use all their strength to pull the wagon, but they did not complain.

The Wheels of the wagon were of a different sort. Though the task they had to do was very light compared with that of the Oxen, they creaked and groaned at every turn. The poor Oxen, pulling with all their might to draw the wagon through the deep mud, had their ears filled with the loud complaining of the Wheels. And this, you may well know, made their work so much the harder to endure.

“Silence!” the Oxen cried at last, out of patience. “What have you Wheels to complain about so loudly? We are drawing all the weight, not you, and we are keeping still about it besides.”