The Ox, the Horse, and the Donkey

Fable by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian Period 18th century

An ox, a donkey, and a horse
were disputing over precedence.
A donkey! You’ll say, such pride ill suits him.
Whom does pride ever suit? And which of us does not think
himself worth those whom rank, talents, or birth
raise above us?
The ox, in a modest and gentle tone,
put forward his many services,
his strength, his docility;
the steed his valor, his noble feats;
and the donkey his usefulness.
Let us take, said the horse, men as arbiters:
here come three of them, let us set before them our claims.
If two are of one mind, the case is judged.
The three men having come, our ox is charged
with being the spokesman; he explains the matter,
and asks for the judgment.
One of the chosen judges, a horse-trader from Lower Normandy,
cries out at once: the thing is clear,
the horse has won. Not so, my dear colleague,
says the second judge, he was a fat miller,
the donkey must walk first;
any other opinion would be of extreme injustice.
Oh not at all, says the third,
a farmer of his parish and a rich plowman;
to the ox belongs this honor.
What! Retorts the steed, foaming with anger;
your opinion is dictated only by your interest!
Well now! Says the Norman, by whom then, if you please?
Is it not the ordinary code?

Florian

Translation generated by Poésies 123 with assistance from the deepseek-chat artificial-intelligence model.

Text published on Poésies 123: https://www.poesies123.com/en/fable-the-ox-the-horse-and-the-donkey-jean-pierre-claris-de-florian/