Week 10 Story: How to Treat Your Ox
In a time before steam engines, when farmers used animals to
plow the field, a farmer owned an ox who could plow a field faster than any
other ox the farmer had seen. The ox could also move any boulder he tried to
pull. The farmer was very proud of this animal because he had raised the ox
from birth and had developed such a wonderful bond with the animal. One day the
farmer was visiting the nearby town and overheard one of the denizens talking
about an ox from another town over who pulled fifty carts. The man said he was
willing to bet no ox could pull more than that.
This statement caught the farmer’s attention. He walked up
to the man and exclaimed that his ox could pull twice the number of carts this
other ox pulled. The man looked at him and laughed. He then looked to his
friend and joked about the farmer being delusional. He turned back to the
farmer and tried to shoo him away. The farmer declared that his ox could indeed
pull one hundred wagons and that he would bet a lot of money too. The man
agreed.
The next day the farmer came to town with his ox and saw a
line of one hundred carts. He led his ox up to the front of the line and
harnessed him in. He then took out his whip, which he had not used in a long time.
He yelled and whipped the ox and shouted for him to move the carts. The ox did
not move an inch. The man, defeated and dejected, returned home having lost a
large sum of money. Once home he sought to forget what had transpired. He went
to his pantry and grabbed a small jar. He opened it and took out one of the
mushrooms inside of it and ate it. He then took out another mushroom and ate
it. He went out to the back porch on his house and sat in a rocking chair.
After gazing into the night sky for a bit, the farmer felt compelled to visit
the barn where the ox slept. Once there he walked up to the ox and patted him
on the back.
The ox turned his head and said, “Why did you whip me today?
You have not done that for years.”
The farmer fell backwards into a pile of hay. He sat there
flummoxed. The ox had never talked to him before. The farmer groaned and thought,
“I should not have eaten two mushrooms.”
He decided to make the best out of the situation, so he turned
to the ox and apologized. The ox accepted his apology and told him to go back
tomorrow and challenge the man to double or nothing. The farmer hurried back to
the house and quickly went to sleep.
He woke up the next day and hurried into town. He walked
straight up to the man and challenged him to a double or nothing rematch. The
man laughed and said he did not want to take advantage of someone so
delusional. The farmer insisted and even got the towns people on his side. The man
finally gave in and the carts were lined up. Once the ox was strapped in, the
farmed shouted nothing but encouragement. The ox easily pulled all the carts
the entire length. The farmer, elated, threw his hat in the air and jumped for
joy.
He went home a rich and happy man.
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| The Farmer Whipping his Ox. Source |
Author's Note:
I found that this story could be turned into something funny because the premise was kind of absurd. That is what I set out to do is add some humor to an absurd story.
I found that this story could be turned into something funny because the premise was kind of absurd. That is what I set out to do is add some humor to an absurd story.
Bibliography
Jataka Tales, Ellen C. Babbitt, Source
John, your story was very fun to read, and I enjoyed it very much. I liked how you progressed through the story at a good pace. It was especially cool to see your character progression. It was well developed and played really nicely into your narrative. Overall, your story was very fun to read and I can’t wait to read more of your stories.
ReplyDeleteWow John! What a fun story. The story was well told and the details were great. I liked that you had a theme in there as well. I also noticed a little sprinkle of your engineering a the beginning of your story. What made you choose the ox? Well done, I can't wait to read more.
ReplyDeleteHey John
ReplyDeleteAt first when I was reading your story I was like "why is he telling us the man ate mushrooms?" but then I read the part where the ox talked to him and he was shocked. That part of hilarious! I like how you mostly stuck to the original story line, but you might want to add more details to make your story stand out from the original story.
Your classmate,
Joanna
Hello John! I really enjoyed reading your story because it was fun! I like how you had your characters perfectly placed out. Maybe if you added more details of the farmer of who they were or what kind of person they are. I like the amount of details you added in your story with the animals. Good job!
ReplyDeleteHi John,
ReplyDeleteI liked your story quite a bit and thought the mushroom part was amusing. I do like how you used that as a enabler for the ox to talk to the farmer. Your story had a nice progression to it and kept me entertained. Your picture that you used for the story confused me at first, but when I looked harder I could make out the ox and the farmer with the whip. I think that a picture like this is very unique and fits well. Overall, I really liked your story. I look forward to reading more!
Hi John! I like how you used the same storyline but added more to the plot! At first I was like the mushroom part was weird but then it made sense when you said the farmer was being delusional when he was with the towns people. What a clever way to play with the story! Good job.
ReplyDelete