The Shrewd Farmer & The Horse

Once there lived a farmer in a village.

The farmer had a horse. The horse had served the farmers for many years and now it was old and weak. So one day the farmer asked the horse to leave his home.

The horse was sad to hear this. He told his master, "I have grown old and weak serving you over the years. I have been loyal towards you and served you well. When I was young and strong you were good to me. Now when I weak, you are asking me to leave your home and go. Is this the reward I get for my service and honesty?"

The farmer had a sense of guilty. He had no words.

The farmer was shrewd. He told the horse, "If you get me lion's skin I can allow you to stay in my house".

The horse was worried to hear this. He left for the forest.

The horse roamed the forest and then sat sadly under a tree. A fox who was passing by saw the old horse and asked him, "Friend, why are you so sad?"

he horse told the fox  narrated the whole story.

The fox being good natured offered to help the horse. He said to the horse. "You lie down hereon the ground as if you were dead."

The horse followed the advice of the fox and lay there on the ground as if he were dead.

Then the fox met king lion and said "Your Majesty, there is a dead horse lying in an open field. It's better you come and see for yourself."

When the fox and the lion reached the spot, where the horse was lying pretending to be dead, the fox said, "Let us pull this horse and put it behind the bushes so that we could have a peaceful meal. What I'll do is that I'll tie your tail to the tail of the horse."

"Yes, I agree with you," said the lion.

So the fox, instead of tying lion's tail to that of the horse, tied the horse's tail with the leg of the lion. Then he asked the horse to get up and run fast.

The horse, at once got up and started running as fast as he could.

All this happened so suddenly that the lion didn't get a chance to balance himself. The horse was running so fast that he was literally being dragged like a dead animal. His body slammed against big rocks so many times and was caught by thorny bushes in the way. He was getting injuries after injuries and was bleeding profusely.

The lion began to cry and threaten, but the horse didn't stop. At last, the lion couldn't take any more of it and succumbed to injuries.

The horse stopped at his master's house with the dead lion tied to its tail. The farmer was very happy to see the dead lion. He permitted the horse to stay at his house as long as he wished.

Moral : Mind is mightier than body