The Oxen and The Axletrees

A pair of oxen were hauling a heavily loaded wagon down a muddy country road. Every step was a struggle. The mud sucked at the wheels, and the oxen had to throw all their strength into the harness just to keep the wagon moving. Yet they pulled in silence, without a single complaint.

The Axletrees, however, were another matter entirely. Though their job was nothing compared to what the oxen endured, they screeched and groaned with every turn, filling the air with an endless racket. The poor oxen, straining with all their might against the deep mud, had to endure not only the weight of the load but the constant whining of The Axletrees ringing in their ears.

At last the oxen could bear it no longer. "Enough!" they cried. "What do you Axletrees have to complain about? We are the ones pulling this entire load, and you don't hear a word from us. Yet you, who do almost nothing, make the most noise of all."

They complain most who suffer least.