The Mule

Summary

This short story conveys a lesson about self-awareness and the dangers of overestimating oneself. It features a mule that, due to a period of leisure and good nutrition, becomes deluded into believing it possesses the qualities of a superior racehorse. The mule brags about its supposed lineage as a racing thoroughbred, only to later realize its common heritage as a donkey when faced with hard work and fatigue. This narrative serves to remind readers, particularly young audiences, about the importance of humility and the value of acknowledging one's true capabilities and limitations, highlighting the theme of self-deception and its consequences.

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A Mule, frolicsome from lack of work and from too much corn, galloped about in a very extravagant manner, and said to himself: “My father surely was a high-mettled racer, and I am his own child in speed and spirit.” On the next day, being driven a long journey, and feeling very wearied, he exclaimed in a disconsolate tone: “I must have made a mistake; my father, after all, could have been only an ass.”