ألف ليلة وليلة (Thousand and One Nights — 14th-15th century MS)

Know that the same events that occurred to the donkey with the ox happened again at dawn. The donkey and its wife went to the stable of the cattle. The donkey heard the ox say in its own language: "O father of the oxen, the master is planning a plot for tomorrow. Listen to me. When the plowman brings you the fodder, what will you do?" The ox replied: "What can I do other than what you suggested to me? I will not depart from it. When he brings the fodder, I will feign being clever and sick, and I will retch by flattening my belly." The donkey shook its head and said: "Do not do that. You do not know what I heard our master, the merchant, say to the plowman." The ox asked: "What did he say?" The donkey replied: "He said, if the ox does not eat its fodder and stand up, go to the butcher one who slaughters animals so he can slaughter it, distribute its meat as alms, and skin its hide for a mat. I fear for you, and giving advice is part of faith. When the fodder is brought to you, eat it and wake up. Otherwise, he will slaughter you and skin you." The ox jumped up, shouted, and stood. The merchant, who was nearby, stood on his feet and laughed a loud laugh at what he saw of the donkey and the ox.

His wife said to him: "What is making you laugh? Tell me." He said to her: "Tell me, what is the reason for your asking?" She said: "Tell me the reason for your laughter." He replied: "I cannot tell you. I fear for my secret, for if I tell it, I would have to reveal what the animals say in their language, and I cannot." She said: "What prevents you from telling me? Your hesitation?" He said: "It prevents me because I would die." His wife said: "By God, you are lying. This is a ruse from you. By God, by the right of the heavens, if you do not tell me the reason for your laughter and explain it to me, I will no longer stay with you."

Then she entered the house and wept, and she did not cease weeping until the morning. The merchant said: "Woe to you! Tell me what makes you weep. Call upon God, return to your senses, and leave your stubbornness." She said: "This must be done, and there is no turning back from this." He was amazed by her and said: "There is no way to do this. If I tell you what I heard from the donkey and the ox, which made me laugh, I will die." She said: "It must be done, even if you die."

He called for his family. She called for her family, her mother, and her father. Some of the neighbors came as well, and he informed them that death had come to him. They all wept, and the little ones, his children, the plowmen, and the servants all wept. A funeral atmosphere was held for him. Then, he called for witnesses and righteous men, and they arrived. He stood and willed his wife her due, settled his debts to her, made a will regarding his children, freed his bondmaids, and bid farewell to his family. They all wept, and the witnesses wept. The parents approached the wife original: "الامرا" (colloquial spelling of "المرأة") and said to them...