The Flea and the Ox

A FLEA¹ thus questioned an Ox:  "What ails² you, that being so huge
and strong, you submit to the wrongs you receive from men and
slave for them day by day, while I, being so small a creature,
mercilessly feed on their flesh and drink their blood without
stint?'  The Ox replied:  "I do not wish to be ungrateful, for I am
loved and well cared for by men, and they often pat my head and
shoulders."  "Woe's me!"  said the flea; "this very patting which
you like, whenever it happens to me, brings with it my inevitable
destruction."