Long, long ago there was a very old man. A rich man. A powerful man. His house was great and his lands were wide, but he needed a way to get his servants about. And so he bought a mule and set a servant to tend him, telling him, "Use this mule to get my servants where they need to be."

For many years, the servant did his master's will. He cared for the mule, and helped the other servants get to where they needed to be. And over time, he saw the need for a cart. So he built a cart and hitched it to the mule, so that he could serve better his master's wishes.

The master returned one day and saw the work his servant had done and was pleased. "In reward for your many years of good work, I will give you this mule and the cart you drive with it. I simply ask that you will carry my people, should I have need."

The servant was pleased with his master's reward, and he agreed. He welcomed all that came and asked for a ride, sometimes collecting a small fee that he might keep himself and the mule well.

One day, the servant's old master arrived on his doorstep. He road a beautiful horse, Tempest, a magnificent beast with paces as swift as the wind. "I wish to use the cart this day. I have a long way to go and the way is rocky and steep and I do not wish to risk my best horse. You will carry me."

Before the servant could agree, another man rode up. This old man was astride a great beast with its hide the color of a candle's tongue, and a fiery spirit to match. "I would hire your cart, old man," he demanded, paying no attention to the servant's old master standing nearly.

As the servant began protest that he was already bound upon the road with his master, another man rode up. Mounted on a beautiful beast with a gait as smooth as the calm ocean, the man quietly asked, "I have need to travel, and I do not wish to injure my horse. May I hire your cart, good man?"

A last old man came upon the scene and looked at the servant, his mule and cart, and the three old men waiting to ride in it and he laughed. "Why take a cart when you have perfectly good horses? Why take horses when you have two perfectly good feet? I will walk my own way." And he disappeared into the forest, still laughing.

They all watched the strange man trot away and the servant shook his head. Torn, he turned back and said to all three, "I have served all that came this way for many years, and I would be pleased to serve you all, for you are bound on the same road. I will carry you all if you will travel together."

His old master smiled, for he had always told his servant to help all that came. He offered one third of the fee and climbed into the cart, "I will travel."

The fiery elder scowled but reluctantly agreed, turning over one third of the fee and climbing into the cart.

The last man offered his fee and joined the other two and soon they were all three off on their way.

The road was long and bumpy, and the three men old, and used to much comfort. They spoke not to each other, but watched the way as the old servant drove the mule. But over time the servant's old master began to frown.

"The way is clearer over there," he angrily pointed out. "My bones ache. Drive the cart over this way." The servant tried to guide the mule and cart in the way the old master wished, but there were many ruts in the road, and it was difficult. When the cart did not ride more smoothly, the old master tore the reins from his old servant's grip and pulled savagely, jerking the mule to one side, cutting the poor beast's mouth with the bit and turning the cart along the edge of the road.

"You fool!" the fiery elder spoke up as the cart jerked and bumped about. "This is not the way to go! It is smoother over here!" He reached over and tore the reins from the old master's hands and pulled the mule about to walk on the other side of the road.

In the back, the last old man looked on with a frown and counseled, "You are rattling this old cart much too much. You should let the servant drive. He knows the way." But the old man did nothing to stop the fighting.

The two old men fought over the reins and the mule and the cart bumped more and more as it swerved from side to side in the road. The servant protested but it was too late. The cart broke into pieces, tumbling all that rode it out into the dirt.

"Look at what you have done now!" complained the old master. "Now I cannot get where I am going! You are a fool and you do not deserve this cart!" And in a fury, the old master grabbed one of the wheels and dragged it away from the cart.

The fiery elder stood and brushed the dirt of the road from his robe and proclaimed, "I have paid my way on this cart and it is mine. You are the fool. You should have followed my direction." And out of his jealousy, the elder claimed the other broken wheel and dragged it away from the cart.

Quietly, the third old man watched the other two and shook his head. "You are both fools. I will stay with the cart and watch over this old servant, for he will need help to watch over any that still wish to ride." And so the third old man settled down in the back of the cart--a cart without wheels--and watched over the old servant as he calmed his mule.

"What will we do?" asked the old servant of his mule. "Our cart is broken. We cannot take anyone on the road now. If we stay here, the wolves will come in the night, and we will all be their bellies by the morning." The mule looked back with mournful eyes and then closed them against the horror of its fate.

About this time, the last old man came upon the road from a path in the forest, whistling and happy on his own way. He looked upon the sad scene; three old men perched over parts of a broken cart, with no one going anywhere quickly. He laughed and shook his head. "Look at you, foolish men. You squabble over a cart that is not yours. Broken it will carry you no-where. And yet you left perfectly good horses just down the path." He shook his head one last time, laughing at their foolishness and with his wisdom already imparted, he disappeared again into the forest.

It is a shame to say, those three old men sit in the middle of the road, still, and each on a part of the cart they claim as their own. Too bad they cannot see they have perfectly good horses, if they would just leave the servant to repair his cart. A shame they won't let him go on his way.

FIN  

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