The Story of the Cock and the Ass- A New Aesop’s Fable

            One crisp winter evening, on a struggling farm, the Cock entered the Ass’s stable and hopped upon his head.

            “What are you doing?” Asked the Ass, “It is not natural for you to be in here.”

            “I go where I please.” Said the Cock. “One place is as good as another.”

            “But you belong in the coop with the hens and chicks, where the Farmer put you. What will he think if you stay here?”

            “I prefer it in here. The coop is so crowded and noisy. With less people about, it’s much more comfortable for one of my size. The Farmer will just have to understand that.”

            Though he did not say it, the Ass enjoyed the Cock being there as well, and they spent the night appreciating each other’s company. The next morning the Farmer entered the Stable and saw the Cock on the Ass. He raised a fuss, for he always became angry when things were different from what he had imagined, and chased the Cock back to the hen house.

            Later when, in defiance of the Farmer, the Cock returned, the Ass turned him away. For he was afraid of what others would think and say. The Cock left, never to return. The Ass spent the rest of his days miserable and alone.

            Too late he realized that “True happiness only comes from being yourself.”
                   For more fun try books by Rex Hurst