THE GRATEFUL CARABAO

One day, a carabao was plowing the field. The

farmer said, “It’s okay, buddy. We’re almost
done.” After plowing the farmer decided to
take a break. He locked the carabao in his stall
and went to his house to eat.

Meanwhile, the carabao ate his share of food

and rested. The piglet came to see him and
said, “Hey, how’s your day?” The carabao
replied, “It was fine. How about yours?” The
observant Piglet said, “Mr. Carabao, are you
okay? It seems like you’re sick.” Concerned
that it’s getting late, the carabao advised Piglet
to go home, “I’m fine, Piglet. Go back to your
pen. I’m sure your parents are looking for
you.” The piglet left him and went home.

The next day, the carabao was feeling better,

but he realized the farmer took another
carabao to plow the field. “Looks like he does
not trust me anymore,” the carabao thought.
He felt sad and decided to leave. On the road
he met a dog. The dog asked, “Good morning,
Sir! What can I help you with?” The carabao

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responded, “I want to go somewhere where
people trust me.” Bewildered, the dog asked
again, “Why won’t people trust you? You are
very helpful on the field.” With a cracked voice,
the carabao said, “I don’t know why. This
morning the farmer brought another carabao
to the field instead of me.” Suddenly, the
carabao got unconscious and fell to the
ground. When he regained consciousness, he
was at a stall in an unfamiliar farm. He
screamed so others could hear and set him
free, but a stranger came and said, “It’s time
to work, Mr. Carabao.” The stranger abruptly
pulled him out of the stall. The carabao silently
followed and went to plow the stranger’s field.
Many times the stranger hit him hard with a
whip and never allowed him to stop plowing for
the entire day. After a day’s hard work, the
stranger decided to call it a day and left the
carabao outside in the field as the sun set and
the cold night air creeped in. The carabao
thought, “That farmer is very rude. He should
be happy that I’m working for him. Instead, he
treats me like garbage. I regret leaving my
master. I’m sure he is worried about me.” To
keep himself warm for the night, the carabao
looked for a stall. As he walked towards an
empty stall, he saw other animals which were
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mostly injured. They greeted him in unison,
“Welcome to our home, Sir! We are truly sorry
for we cannot offer you food.” The carabao
replied, “Thank you for your kindness, but will
you please excuse me? I must go back to my
master’s field.” The other animals said, “Can
we go with you? We do not want to stay here
anymore. Our master has changed his ways
towards us. We are starving for days now. He
requires us to work everyday, but he is not
giving us food. Because of this, many of our
fellow animals are very sick and want to get
out of here. Can we go with you to your
master?” The carabao gave in, “I’m sorry to
hear about your fate. I’ll let you come with me
to my master. I’m sure you will like to stay
there.” The carabao was very happy that he
could help them find a new master. They
started leaving the mean farmer’s farm and
walked together towards the farm of the
carabao’s master.

They arrived at their destination at dawn and

helped themselves into empty stalls to keep
warm. As the sun rose, the farmer went to his
field and saw the injured animals, He
immediately called a veterinarian to treat
them. The farmer asked the carabao, “Did you

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bring them here?” The carabao nodded but did
not say a word. The farmer continued, “You
have done something great. You have brought
these animals to safety. I promise you that I
will treat them as well as I have treated you.”
The carabao silently cried and said this words
to his master, “Thank you very much. I
promise never to leave you again and teach
my children to be loyal also to you.” He felt
very grateful that day and each day for the
rest of his life.

***** THE END *****