Wooden Image Carried by the Ass

The Wooden Image Carried by the Ass is a wooden image borne through a city to be installed in one of its temples. In the fable, public reverence for the sacred object is mistaken by its carrier for recognition of his own importance. The brief episode uses that error to show how easily status can be claimed by someone who merely transports, rather than embodies, what others honor.

The Image in Procession

The Ass carries a famous wooden image through the streets, bound for a temple. As the procession passes, people bow low before the image. Their gesture has a clear object, but the Ass reads it differently: he supposes the crowd is honoring him.

Pride and Correction

Taking the bows as personal acclaim, the Ass bristles with pride, gives himself airs, and refuses to move. His driver answers the halt with a rebuke and makes plain that the people’s worship is not directed at an Ass. The interruption exposes the gap between the public meaning of the procession and the carrier’s self-serving interpretation of it.

Moral and Narrative Significance

The fable concludes that people are unwise when they claim credit that belongs to others. The image is not merely cargo: its honored status creates the occasion for the Ass’s mistake, while his role as carrier makes the mistake legible. In the collection’s preface, the fable is offered as an example of a short narrative whose moral arises naturally from its action. Its single reversal—reverence meant for the image becomes, in the Ass’s imagination, praise for himself—makes the lesson concrete without requiring an extended explanation.