As he approaches his barn, he overhears a hushed conversation between his ox and his ass. The ass asks, "Brother, how farest thou with these people?" Basically, "How's it going, buddy?"
And the ox, weary and worn, replies, "As thou livest, brother, I pass day and night in hard and painful toil." Can you just hear the exhaustion in his voice? Imagine the endless plowing, the heavy loads… it’s no wonder he’s feeling down.
But the ass, ever the smooth talker, has a plan. "I can give thee relief, brother," he says. "If thou wilt follow my advice, thou shalt live in comfort, and shalt rid thyself of all hard work."
Now, the ox is understandably intrigued. "O brother," he pleads, "may thy heart be inclined toward me, to take pity on me and help me. I promise not to depart from thy advice to the right or the left." He's desperate for a break!
What could the ass’s advice possibly be? And what does this little snippet of animal conversation tell us about how Jewish tradition views the relationship between humans and animals, labor and rest, and maybe even, the temptation of taking shortcuts? We'll have to see what happens next in the story...