The Five Elements – Earth

It was a morning like any other. The sun rose in the east and began its journey towards the west. The pink sky gave way to a bright day as the rays of light made their way toward the ground.

The light illuminated the picturesque farms of the backcountry. It was a long walk to the nearest town. “Twenty miles as the crow flies,” farmers often said, but the walk ended up being much longer. The additional miles were often spent being chased by stampeding oxen, angry farmers, or both.

It was on this day that an ox lay asleep in a barn. This particular ox was six years old and was well into the prime of his life. Yet when the rooster crowed, he was the only animal that refused to wake up.

Around an hour or so after sunrise, an elderly farmer came to check on the ox. This farmer owned the farm that the ox lived on, but the farmer was far too old to work without the assistance of his only ox.

“The rooster has crowed his wake-up call, yet you stay asleep! Wake up, and help me plow the land!” the farmer appealed to the ox.
The ox stirred. “Huh?” the ox asked. “But why should I?”
The farmer was weary of answering this question. “It is your duty to till the land. Yet you never fulfill it.”
“Ah!” the ox exclaimed. “I remember now the reason that I am not working today. Why, how can you ask anybody to work on the auspicious occasion of Earth Day?”
“I believe you said it was Earth Day day before yesterday,” the farmer said. “Do get up now.”
“I must have been mistaken,” the ox stated. “It is Sunday today. And how can you permit anybody to wake up at this ungodly hour to work on the weekend?”
“This is nonsense,” the farmer said. “Every animal on the farm works on the weekend. Besides, you come up with an excuse every day. Now get on with it!”

The ox contemplated for a minute, looking more defeated by the second. The farmer was almost certain that the ox would agree to work when the ox’s face lit up. “I have come to a realization,” the ox said with the air of somebody who had just made a great discovery.
“What?” the farmer asked, clearly growing frustrated.
“It is wrong for civilized creatures such as us to trample Mother Earth. The land of the Earth is hallowed ground, yet we do not treat it as such. To plow the lands would be to wound Mother Earth,” the ox reasoned.

Having nothing to say to this, the farmer turned to leave. Before opening the door, though, the farmer issued a warning to the ox, “You cannot keep avoiding work like this!”

The ox felt incredibly proud of himself as he drifted into sleep again. “Why, you genius, how could you think of such a brilliant plan? This should keep the farmer away for a few days! I must begin to think of another such excuse for next time.”

It was around noon when the ground under the ox began to quake. The ox woke up with a start. “Is there an earthquake?” he asked. The ground shook more and more, and the ox started to become hysteric. “Has the Earth caught my lies? Am I being sent to hell? Help me!”
A voice came out of nowhere. “Why do you keep avoiding your duties?”
“Who are you?” the trembling ox asked. “Show yourself!”
“I am the Earth,” the voice said. “I have come to speak to you.”
“Speak to me!” the ox exclaimed in disbelief. “Why?”
“It is not right for one of my children to behave in such a manner,” the Earth said. “I give to all of you endlessly. What do you do?”
The ox had nothing to say in response to this. “Reflect upon this,” the Earth said. “Should you not plow the farm’s lands as your contribution to the happiness of all? Should you not carry the goods into town?”
“Why can’t another animal do that?” the ox asked. “Why me?”
“Can you climb a tree like a monkey?” the Earth asked. “No, you cannot. Similarly, no animal can do the things you can do.”
“Is this a curse?” the ox asked. “Why must I be the only creature that has to do the hard work of the farm?”
“It is a gift,” the Earth replied. “You are strong, young, and have plenty of life left. What more could you want other than helping an old farmer?”
Seeing that the ox had nothing left to say, the Earth added, “That’s all I have to say.”

Having said such, the Earth faded away, leaving the dumbfounded ox with his thoughts. The ox contemplated whether or not he should take the Earth’s advice. Finally, he made a decision after great thought.

The next morning, when the farmer woke up, he walked out of his house to attempt to get the ox to work again. As he walked outside, he stopped short. Lo and behold! His entire field was tilled! The farmer was shocked to see it. Even more shocking was that there were hoof marks all over the field. The hoof marks ended far off in the distance, where the ox ran the last length of the field with the plow mounted on his back.

“Why, it’s a miracle!” the farmer exclaimed.
From then on, the ox worked harder than any of the other animals on the farm.