Orthodox Parables and Stories: St. Paisios and the Mule

When Elder Paisios was at the Stomio Monastery in Konitsa, his sister Christina often visited him to bring him various food and clothing. One day she decided to visit him with a friend of hers, and since she had gathered enough things, she loaded them on a mule and set off. But when they reached a very uphill and steep point, the mule stopped and made no step. It was in vain that the two women were pulling from the rope... nothing happened. They tried another way: One was behind it and she was pushing and the other was pulling at the front with the alter. Again the horse was not moving. So, after all the means were in vain, the friend was left with the mule and the things, and Christina went to the Monastery.

- "The mule doesn't want to walk," she told the Elder. "We have been trying for hours now, but it is not moving. What to do?"
- "There is nothing wrong with the mule," Elder Paisios told her. “You're strange. Let's go see if this is the way I say it is or not! "
So they went off, the Elder in front and Christina behind him and reached the point where the mule had stopped. The Elder made the sign of cross over it, grabbed the rope and - not even the rope stretched - the mule persistently followed him, climbed uphill and reached the Monastery without showing any resistance. The two women marveled and glorified our Lord !!!

The Zoophilia of the Saints and the Zoophilia of the Animals.
translated by Orthodox Parables and Stories