![]() ![]() On still other occasions the donkey is used to depict low status or servility, especially when contrasted with more favored beasts such as the horse or the hound. It was probably this characterization that led to the modern usage of "ass" to mean "fool". Sometimes the ass is used as a symbol not so much of stubbornness, as of sheer stupidity. Less commonly, the mule or donkey will be used as a steed instead, typically on a path too harsh for horses, and at an arbitrary point in the path suddenly refuse to move any further. If it will be convinced to move at all, it will only be by dint of much pulling, pushing, and cursing, and most likely after some judicious application of goads or stout sticks. This typically applies in the context of trying to use them as beasts of burden, with the animal in question stubbornly refusing to pull its cart or haul its load and firmly planting itself in its spot. It's a common stereotype for mules, as well as for their donkey sires, to be stubborn, recalcitrant, and uncooperative animals. ![]()
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