The Ox Who Won the Forfeit: A Jataka Tale with Moral
Quick answer: The Ox Who Won the Forfeit, the Nandivisala Jataka, retold in full: a great ox refuses to pull a hundred carts for a master who calls him a rascal. The moral about kind words.
A Brahmin bets a thousand pieces of silver that his ox can pull a hundred loaded carts, then calls the ox a rascal in front of the whole town. The Ox Who Won the Forfeit is the Nandivisala Jataka, number 28 in the Pali collection.
The story
A Brahmin in the kingdom of Gandhara was given a bull calf and raised it like a son. He named it Nandivisala, Great Joy, fed it rice gruel from his own bowl and let it sleep in the doorway. The calf grew into the largest ox anyone had seen, and one day it thought: this man has given me everything. Let me earn him something.
It spoke to him. 'Master, go to the rich merchant with all the carts and bet him a thousand pieces that your ox can draw a hundred carts loaded with sand and gravel. I will win it for you.' The Brahmin made the bet. The town gathered. A hundred carts were chained in a line and heaped high, and Nandivisala was yoked to the first. The Brahmin climbed onto the pole, raised his goad, and shouted for all to hear, 'Now pull, you rascal. Drag them, you rogue.'
The ox stood like a rock. He did not lean into the yoke. He did not shift a hoof. The town laughed, and the Brahmin paid the thousand pieces and went home and lay on his bed with his face to the wall. That evening the ox came to the doorway. 'Master, in all these years, have I ever broken a pot, trodden on anyone, or fouled your yard?' 'Never.' 'Then why did you call me a rascal before the whole town? The fault is yours. Go back and bet two thousand, and speak to me as you have always spoken.'
The Brahmin went back and doubled the bet. The carts were chained, the town gathered again, and this time he laid the goad aside, patted the great neck, and said, 'Now, my fine fellow. Pull, my beauty. Draw them along, Great Joy.' Nandivisala leaned into the yoke and the hundred carts moved as one, and the last cart stood where the first had started before the ox stopped. The Brahmin took two thousand pieces home, and the town talked about it for years.
The moral, and what it actually means
The closing verse says only pleasant words should be spoken, for gentle speech moves heavy loads and harsh speech moves nothing. In the frame the ox is the Buddha and the tale was told to monks who had been insulting one another. Its practical truth is about how effort is given. The ox's strength is the same on both days. What changes is whether he is willing to spend it for this man.
Where the tale sits and why it has lasted
It is Jataka 28, the Nandivisala Jataka, and a favourite in Buddhist teaching for children because its lesson can be applied within the hour. It has lasted because it runs the same test twice with one variable changed. Same ox, same carts, same crowd, different words, and the result flips. Few fables are built this much like an experiment.
For young readers and classrooms
From about five upward.
Write your own
The engine is the controlled experiment. Repeat a scene almost word for word, changing one thing, and let the outcome reverse. The reader will supply the moral without being told it. The single changed variable should be something small enough to overlook and large enough to matter.
What writers can take from this
- For readers: the ox proposes the bet himself; his loyalty is established before his pride is wounded.
- For teachers: children can test the moral in the playground the same day, which is why it teaches so well.
- For teachers: pair it with The Elephant Girly-face, another Jataka about how words change an animal.
- For writers: the twice-told scene is one of the oldest structural tricks and still one of the most reliable.
- For writers: let the wronged party name the fault in a single calm speech rather than a sulk.
Try it yourself
Write a story in which the same task is attempted twice in front of the same crowd, with everything identical except one sentence spoken at the start. The first attempt must fail completely and the second succeed, and nobody in the story should explain why.
Questions
What is the moral of The Ox Who Won the Forfeit?
Speak kindly, especially to those who work for you. The ox refuses to pull when called a rascal and draws a hundred carts when spoken to with affection.
Which Jataka is The Ox Who Won the Forfeit?
It is the Nandivisala Jataka, number 28 in the Pali collection, in which the Buddha is the great ox Nandivisala.
Is The Ox Who Won the Forfeit suitable for young children?
Yes, from about five. Nothing bad happens beyond a lost bet, the ox speaks, and the lesson about kind words is one children can use immediately.
By the Writory editorial team, reviewed by working writers. Updated September 2026.
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