# The Ass and His Masters explained — Aesop's Fables

> Chapter companion for Aesop's Fables by Aesop.

## What happens

An Ass, discontented with his hard life under a Gardener, begs Jupiter for a new master. Jupiter grants his wish, selling him to a Potter, but the Ass finds the work even harder. He begs again and is sold to a Tanner, whereupon he realizes his fate will be even worse, lamenting that he should have been content with his earlier masters. The fable teaches that servants often do not appreciate a good master until they have experienced a worse one.

## Themes in this chapter

### Wisdom and Foolishness

The Ass's repeated requests for change without foresight demonstrate foolishness, as he fails to appreciate his current situation until it is too late.

### Perseverance and Effort

The Ass's inability to endure hardship and his constant seeking of an easier master highlight the theme of perseverance versus the desire for escape.

## Character check-ins

### The Ass

The Ass is discontented with his hard labor under the Gardener, then the Potter, and finally despairs when sold to the Tanner, realizing his mistake in seeking change.

### Jupiter

Jupiter responds to the Ass's pleas by arranging his sale to new masters, first a Potter and then a Tanner.

### Mercury

Mercury is sent by Jupiter to instruct the Gardener to sell the Ass to a Potter.

## Key lines

> Why wasn’t I content to serve either of my former masters, hard as I had to work and badly as I was treated? for they would have buried me decently, but now I shall come in the end to the tanning-vat.

The Ass regrets not appreciating his earlier masters, realizing that despite the harsh treatment, they would have given him a proper burial, whereas now he will end up in the tanning vat.

_This lament encapsulates the moral of the fable: the grass is not always greener, and one should value what they have before it is too late._

> Servants don’t know a good master till they have served a worse.

People often fail to recognize a good situation until they experience a worse one.

_The explicit moral of the fable, emphasizing the theme of wisdom and foolishness._

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se/chapters/the-ass-and-his-masters
- Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se
- All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/fables_se/chapters