Speaker 1: Yeah, Hello, My name's Josephine and this is the Animal
Tales podcast, where you suggest the animals featured in our stories.
There are new tales to enjoy every Monday and Wednesday,
with a third premium only story every Friday. Please continue
to share Animal Tales with your friends and leave reviews
where you can. Twenty twenty six is the year of
the Horse in the Chinese calendar, so we've put together
a fable about a horse for you. You can learn
more about these creatures in the Animal facts after the story. Okay,
are you ready? That's good, then I'll begin the Horse's
place in the world. Humans are a lion on many animals.
In day to day life. We have animals for food,
and animals as pets, and animals that help us with work,
and all of them fit into their little rolls perfectly
suited for whatever it is we need them to do. However,
this wasn't always the case. All animals were once wild
and free. Back then in ancient China, humans were starting
to build farms to tend to the earth and grow crops.
But it was hard work and the humans grew tired,
felt cold and lonely in their homes and had to
fight to stop their crops from being stolen by vermin.
Frustrated by this, one farmer went to the spirits of
the forest and asked for help. He needed six things
to make his life easier. Comfort, labor, exercise, security, transport,
and a leader to keep them all in check. The
spirits listened and agreed to grant his request. They promised
to send six animals to help him. A chicken, an ox,
a dog, a cat, a rat, and a horse. The
one condition was that it would be up to the
animals to choose in which way they would help the farmer.
All right, every one, snorted the horse. Once the spirits
had gathered them together. We have some very important decisions
to make. Are we going to put it to a vote?
Asked the chicken. Can't we just go home? Muttered the rat.
Whatever I do I want to do lots of running,
declared the dog. The animals started to talk over one another,
making demands and getting nowhere. The horse stamped his hoof
and called for silence. Eno uugh, he said, sternly, we
should feel honored to have been chosen by the spirits
of the forest. They could have chosen any one. The monkey,
the tiger or even the dragon. But they chose us
and we should be grateful. The other animals muttered apologies,
except the rat, who folded his arms and scowled. Let
us look at the farmer's needs one at a time,
the horse continued. The farmer said, he requires comfort. I
think this would be perfect for the dog or the chicken.
Me fretted the chicken. What if I do something wrong.
I can't run around and give comfort at the same time.
The dog protested, not fair. The cat cried, I'm warm
and soft, and my purring makes every one feel good.
I want to bring the farmer comfort very well. The
horse relented. I suppose that does indeed work. Now. The
farmer requires help with labor. There's lots of heavy work
that needs doing on his farm. I'll do it, the
dog said, his tail wagging. I'll be running back and
forth all day, being busy. Slowly and surely, the animals
divided up the tasks. The horse suggested the ox for security,
but the rat claimed it for himself. Instead. The ox
chose to help with transport, while the chicken nervously offered
to be the leader on the farm. Nobody was keen
on helping the farmer with exercise, so the horse was
left with that, and so, with the jobs decided, the
animals went to join the farmer at their new home.
The farmer was delighted when they arrived, greeting them with
food and water. The cat, responsible for comfort, immediately got
to work by curling up on the farmer's lap. Meanwhile,
the chicken strutted back and forth, worrying about what she
should say and do. As for the rat, he slipped
away the first moment he could, disappearing into the shadows
of the house. Only the horse noticed him go. The
first week was always going to be awkward. As the
animals settled into their rolls, the cat seemed to prefer
her time alone, the dog often got distracted, and the
rat was nowhere to be seen. The horse focused on
trying to help the farmer with his exercise, encouraging the
human to run with him through the meadows, but the
human struggled to keep up with a galloping horse. Then
one day, the farmer announced he had to take his
crops to the market. The ox, responsible for helping with transport,
went with him. With the farmer gone, the horse realized
that he had some free time to do as he pleased,
so he chose to take a walk around the farm.
He was very impressed with what the clever human had
achieved by himself. There was a big barn at the
yard's end, where all the harvested crops were stored. The
farmer had spoken proudly of this place, and now the
horse was keen to see this marvel for himself. The
heavy barn doors groaned as the horse pushed them open.
He expected sacks of food, hay stacked in the corners,
and rice wine saved in barrels, But this was not
the sight that greeted him. The barn was full of rats,
beady eyed and sharp tooth. They scattered as the sunlight
came flooding in through the open doors. Their large bellies
were full of stolen food, and they struggled to escape
through the holes. They'd arrived by rat. The horse bellowed,
what is the meaning of this? The rat, who hadn't
been seen at all since arriving on the farm, glared
down at the horse from a wooden beam overhead. I
never asked to be a human servant, the rat snarled.
I don't want a job, I just want to eat,
as do my brothers and sisters. And now that we
know that human's farms have so much food, we know
just where to look. The rat laughed from the safety
of his perch, as the horse stamped his foot with anger.
You have betrayed us, rat, the horse declared, But the
rat only laughed as he disappeared into the shadows of
the barn. Irritated by the rat's trickery, the horse marched
from the barn, snorting with anger and shaking his head.
What is all this stomping about, yawned the cat, who
had been snoozing in a patch of warm sunlight on
the farmhouse's step. Rat has turned against us, said the
horse angrily. He has invited his friends to steal the
farmer's food. He will undo all our hard work, and
the farmer will send us back to the wild. What
do you expect me to do about it? Said the
cat lazily. You're small and nimble enough to go in
the barn where I cannot. The horse said, you could
catch him. Can't somebody else do it? The cat yawned sleepily.
I'm busy. No you're not, said the horse. You're supposed
to bring comfort to the farmer, not just be comfortable yourself. Well,
security isn't my job, the cat replied, get rat to
throw himself out. Getting nowhere, the horse went to find
the dog. He was in one of the fields trying
to pull a plow through the muddy earth. The plow
was extremely heavy and the dog had so far felled
to make any progress. Dog, I need your help, the
horse said. Rat has turned on us and cat is
refusing to catch him. Could you talk some sense into her?
I would, The dog panted, But that sounds like a
job for whoever's leading the farm. My job is to
help with the work. The horse looked at the unplowed
field and the sweat dripping down the dog's forehead. I see,
said the horse, And how's that going for you? Harder
than I thought? But I'll get there, said the dog.
At least I'm getting plenty of exercise. And so the
horse went to find the chicken, which was no easy task.
He eventually found her hiding in a basket. Chicken, the
horse said, this farm is in danger. As our leader,
you need to act. The chicken poked her head from
the basket and said, oh, I don't think so. Nobody
listens to me, I wouldn't even know where to start.
Luckily for the chicken. At that moment, the ox and
the farmer returned. While the farmer headed into his house,
the horse rushed up to the ox. Thank goodness you're here,
said the horse. I need your help. I've no time
for that, said the ox grumpily. The stones on the
road have hurt my hoofs, and the market was far
too noisy. Some one bumped into me, so I bumped
them back, and now the farmer is cross with me.
Just then the chicken came barreling around the corner, chased
by the dog. Leave me alone, the chicken cried, But
the exercise is good for you, the dog replied, will
you lock? Keep it down, shouted the cat from the step.
I'm trying to have a nap. Why should you get
to sleep all day? Complained the ox. As the chicken
and the dog ran in circles around his feet. It
was all too much for the horse. Quiet he bellowed, Clearly,
this arrangement is not working. The spirits were wrong. We
are not the right animals to assist the farmer. We
may as well return to the wild, go back to
living in the woods. The chicken gulped, and have to
catch our own meals, the dog added, with no fireplaces,
cushions or head scratches. The cat said, looking horrified, we
must The horse said firmly. We're not helping the farmer
at all. The field is unplowed, he's worried and tired,
and the barn is full of vermin. We've failed, said
the ox, hanging his head in shame. There was a
moment of awkward silence as the animals came to terms
with what had happened. Then the horse lifted his head
and said unless The other animals looked up with hope
in their eyes. Unless, the horse repeated, we switch rolls.
We need to think of what helps the farmer the most,
rather than what we want to do. I'm no good
at plowing the field, the dog admitted. Perhaps I should
take on the roll of exercise. I'd like two walks
a day. Excellent, said the horse proudly. Any One else
I could plow, said the ox. I'm strong, and the
fields are quieter than the market. I suppose I could
take on security. The cat sighed, flexing her claws. I'm
best at catching vermin, after all, I'll take care of
that rat good, nodded the horse. Chicken, why don't you
handle comfort. Your feathers are soft and your eggs are tasty.
I'm sure the farmer would appreciate it. I can do that,
the chicken replied, and then perhaps I should take on transport.
The horse concluded, I like riding along the roads. But
there's still one task that needs doing, said the dog,
with rat gone. We haven't covered leadership, the animals murmured nervously.
All the rolls had to be filled, and yet all
of the animals had a job to do. Who says
one of us can't take two rolls, pointed out the dog.
But if so, who maybe a vote? Then? The chicken suggested,
all right, said the ox, I vote for horse. The
horse was surprised to see everyone choose him, But why me,
he asked. You've shown us that you're reliable and responsible,
said the ox. You reminded us of our responsibilities, said
the dog, and guided us through a serious problem, added
the cat. You're a natural leader, the chicken finished, and
so the rolls were swapped, and this time the farm
ran much more smoothly. The horse was pleased to see
that the farmer was happy and that his farm thrived.
That's not to say there weren't problems, but the horse
could see that each animal was doing its best, and
without them, the farmer would have struggled, and it's been
that way ever since. More fact, there are twelve animals
in the Chinese zodiac, and the horse is number seven.
Horses and horse like beings appear in many Chinese stories.
In the story Journey to the West, written in the
sixteenth century, one of the main characters is a white
horse who carries a monk upon his back. In fact,
the white horse is actually a transformed dragon. Winged horses
called tianmar occur often in stories. Famous for their size
and strength, They were often linked to the weather and
activities in the night sky. We hope you enjoyed the
story and thank you to all of you across the
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Good Bye,