Part 4

Both the old horse Ebenezer and Mistah Mule, who stood side by side in the barn, pricked up their ears and listened to all this talk.

“Huh!” Mistah Mule grunted, as he cocked an eye at his neighbor. “They needn’t think I’se a-goin’ to hurt myself a-pullin’ on their ole wagon.”

“I don’t blame you the least bit,” the old horse Ebenezer told him. “To be sure, you’re a stout chap. Maybe you could yank the wagon out of the hole--if the bays would pull too--without much trouble. But why should you do that?”

It amazed Mistah Mule to hear such advice from old Ebenezer. And a very stubborn look came over his face.

“I could twitch that wagon out quick--if I wanted to,” he declared.

“But you don’t want to,” said Ebenezer. “If you tried--and failed----”

“Don’t talk to me, ole hoss!” snapped Mistah Mule. “You got ’nuff to ’tend to if you only minds your own bus’ness.”

Old Ebenezer said no more. But he chuckled to himself when Farmer Green came and led Mistah Mule away.

He chuckled again when Mistah Mule came back a little later, holding his head very high.

“I showed ’em!” Mistah Mule brayed loudly. “I done pulled the load an’ those no-account bays too.”

Farmer Green told the hired man he was never so surprised in his life.

THE END

TRANSCRIBER’S NOTES:

Italicized text is surrounded by underscores: _italics_.

Archaic or variant spelling has been retained.