The Flea and the Ox

英语自学网

The Flea and the Ox
        A FLEA thus questioned an Ox:
        "What ails you, that being so huge
        and strong, you submit to the wrongs you receive from men and
        slave for them day by day, while I, being so small a creature,
        mercilessly feed on their flesh and drink their blood without
        stint?'
        The Ox replied:
        "I do not wish to be ungrateful, for I am
        loved and well cared for by men, and they often pat my head and
        shoulders."
        "Woe's me!"
        said the flea; "this very patting which
        you like, whenever it happens to me, brings with it my inevitable
        destruction."