This parable is told of a farmer who owned an old mule. The mule fell into the farmer’s well. The farmer heard the mule braying as a call for help.
After carefully assessing the situation, the farmer sympathized with the mule, but decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth the trouble of saving. Instead, he called his neighbors together, told them what had happened, and enlisted them to help haul dirt to bury the old mule in the well and put him out of his misery.
Initially, the old mule became hysterical. But as the farmer and his neighbors continued shoveling and the dirt hit his back, a thought struck him. It suddenly dawned on him that every time a shovel load of dirt landed on his back, he would “shake it off and step up”.
This he did, shovel full after shovel full, “shake it off and step up… shake it off and step up… shake it off and step up”, he repeated to encourage himself. No matter how distressing the situation seemed, the old mule fought panic and just kept right on “shaking it off and stepping up”. And it wasn’t long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly over the top wall of the well.
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