368 OUR HUMBLE HELPERS 



not parasites, for of all hairy animals the ass is the 

 least subject to vermin. It never has lice, appa- 

 rently on account of the hardness and dryness of its 

 skin, which is in fact harder than that of most other 

 quadrupeds. For the same reason it is much less 

 sensitive than the horse to the whip and to the sting 

 of flies. 



"When overloaded, it lies on its stomach and 

 refuses to move, determined to let itself be beaten to 

 death rather than get up. 'Oh, the stubborn brute! 

 Oh, the stupid ass!' cries the master; and down 

 comes the stick. Is it stubbornness on the animal's 

 part to refuse to work! Listen first to a short story. 

 In the old days of the Eoman Empire a man of pro- 

 found wisdom, Epictetus, was a slave in the house of 

 a brutal master. One day the latter beat him un- 

 mercifully with his cane. 'Master,' said Epictetus 

 to him, 'I warn you that if you keep that up you will 

 break my leg and your slave will lose in value. ' The 

 brute struck all the harder, and a bone broke. With 

 sublime resignation the slave uttered no reproach 

 except to say: 'I told you you would break my leg.' 



"To return to the ass laden beyond its strength, 

 if it could speak it would certainly express itself 

 thus in imitation of the sage: 'Master, I assure you 

 very humbly the load you are putting on me over- 

 taxes my strength and I cannot carry it.' But the 

 man inconsiderately continues augmenting the bur- 

 den until at last the animal's back bends under the 

 weight. The donkey first inclines its head, lowers 

 its ears, and then lies down. That is its way of say- 



