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."
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."