A story is told of a farmer who owned an old, decrepit mule. One day the farmer heard the mule braying pitifully and found that it had fallen into an old dried up well. The farmer sympathized with the poor mule, but after assessing the situation he decided that neither the mule nor the well was worth saving. Instead, he called his hired hands and neighbors together, told them what had happened, and enlisted their help to haul dirt and bury the old mule in the well, thus putting him out of his misery.

At first the old mule was hysterical. But as the farmer and the others continued dumping dirt on his back, a thought struck him. Every time a shovelful of dirt landed on his back, he could shake it off and step up. This he did, blow after blow.

Shake it off and step up. Shake it off and step up. Shake it off and step up! No matter how close together or painful the blows or how distressing the situation seemed, the mule fought against panic and just kept right on shaking it off and stepping up. It wasn’t long before the old mule, battered and exhausted, stepped triumphantly out of the well.