The Horse And The Ass

The Horse And The Ass

In such a world, all men, of every grade,
Should each the other kindly aid;
For, if beneath misfortune’s goad
A neighbour falls, on you will fall his load.

There jogg’d in company an ass and horse;
Nought but his harness did the last endorse;
The other bore a load that crush’d him down,
And begg’d the horse a little help to give,
Or otherwise he could not reach the town.
‘This prayer,’ said he, ‘is civil, I believe;
One half this burden you would scarcely feel.’
The horse refused, flung up a scornful heel,
And saw his comrade die beneath the weight:-
And saw his wrong too late;
For on his own proud back
They put the ass’s pack,
And over that, beside,
They put the ass’s hide.

And the Moral is…

This is just one of Fonaines’s fables and quite a rather sad one at that, you can read the whole book here. Be sure to also check out more amazing rhymes in the horse poetry section.