Stubborn Mule Quotes

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If you don't watch it people will force you one way or the other, into doing what they think you should do, or into just being mule-stubborn and doing the opposite out of spite.
Ken Kesey (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)
I don't know how you persist in being so stubborn-" "It's a superpower. I was bitten by a radioactive mule.
Shannon Hale (The Actor and the Housewife)
Diabolical. You’re a scoundrel in tasteful athleisure wear.”  I grinned and stretched my arms. “Isn’t this jacket cute? I really couldn’t pass it up.”  “It’s adorable.” She sipped her tea. “You’re adorable. Cooper should eat you up. But I have two of you that are as stubborn as mules. How is even a certified busybody supposed to Hallmark-ending you two?
J. Rose Black (Chasing Headlines)
God, you're so fucking stubborn. You're like a menopausal pissed-off mule!
Emma Chase (Tangled (Tangled, #1))
He always was a stubborn mule. But who would actually kill him over vegetables? It just doesn’t add up.
Stella Sinclaire (Fertile Ground for Murder)
Papa says if you don’t watch it people will force you one way or the other, into doing what they think you should do, or into just being mule-stubborn and doing the opposite out of spite.
Ken Kesey (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)
People skills are useless with cats, because cats are immune to training, and do whatever they decide in any situation... And most importantly they aren’t human.
Will Advise (Nothing is here...)
Papa says if you don't watch it people will force you one way or the other, into doing what they think you should do, or into just being mule stubborn and doing the opposite out of spite.
Ken Kesey (One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest)
I deserve a swift kick in the shorts for all the times I've stubbornly wound my way through the library stacks, my mule head leading the way, searching fruitlessly for information a librarian could put in my hands in a matter of minutes.
Michael Perry
Something’s up,’ I say, handing the phone back. ‘Not necessarily,’ Jack says. ‘You think this is the first time Lila’s been hot-headed? Seriously, dude, you do remember my sister, right? Short, blonde, impulsive as shock therapy? Stubborn as a mule who won’t take no for an answer?’ Does Jack ever listen to himself? Does he appreciate the irony of this statement? I shake my head at him in wonder. ‘Hey, I’m not short or blond,’ Jack protests as he catches the look on my face.
Sarah Alderson (Losing Lila (Lila, #2))
It took me a long time to understand that even a stubborn mule responds to gentleness.
John Wooden (Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court)
Such strength behind these eyes, that your soul glows through. Blinding. Captivating. Torturing. You may be as stubborn as a mule on a cliff side but any man would find the true meaning of foolishness to ever forget these facts.
Stephanie Hudson (The Triple Goddess (Afterlife Saga #3))
You’ve been through a lot, but you without your emotions, isn’t you. Those feelings make you who you are. Why you love so passionately, protect your loved ones so fiercely, and act like a stubborn mule. It’s why people are drawn to you, even against their will.
Stacey Marie Brown (Dwellers of Darkness (Darkness, #3))
Little girls are the nicest things that can happen to people. They are born with a bit of angel-shine about them, and though it wears thin sometimes, there is always enough left to lasso your heart—even when they are sitting in the mud, or crying temperamental tears, or parading up the street in Mother’s best clothes. A little girl can be sweeter (and badder) oftener than anyone else in the world. She can jitter around, and stomp, and make funny noises that frazzle your nerves, yet just when you open your mouth, she stands there demure with that special look in her eyes. A girl is Innocence playing in the mud, Beauty standing on its head, and Motherhood dragging a doll by the foot. God borrows from many creatures to make a little girl. He uses the song of a bird, the squeal of a pig, the stubbornness of a mule, the antics of a monkey, the spryness of a grasshopper, the curiosity of a cat, the speed of a gazelle, the slyness of a fox, the softness of a kitten, and to top it all off He adds the mysterious mind of a woman. A little girl likes new shoes, party dresses, small animals, first grade, noisemakers, the girl next door, dolls, make-believe, dancing lessons, ice cream, kitchens, coloring books, make-up, cans of water, going visiting, tea parties, and one boy. She doesn’t care so much for visitors, boys in general, large dogs, hand-me-downs, straight chairs, vegetables, snowsuits, or staying in the front yard. She is loudest when you are thinking, the prettiest when she has provoked you, the busiest at bedtime, the quietest when you want to show her off, and the most flirtatious when she absolutely must not get the best of you again. Who else can cause you more grief, joy, irritation, satisfaction, embarrassment, and genuine delight than this combination of Eve, Salome, and Florence Nightingale. She can muss up your home, your hair, and your dignity—spend your money, your time, and your patience—and just when your temper is ready to crack, her sunshine peeks through and you’ve lost again. Yes, she is a nerve-wracking nuisance, just a noisy bundle of mischief. But when your dreams tumble down and the world is a mess—when it seems you are pretty much of a fool after all—she can make you a king when she climbs on your knee and whispers, "I love you best of all!
Alan Beck
Elayne could not help herself. Nynaeve wielding her tongue like a needle, Cerandin stubborn as two mules, and now this. She threw back her head and screamed with frustration. When the sound died, it seemed as if the animals had quieted. Horse handlers stood about, staring at her. Coolly, she ignored them. Nothing could worm its way under her skin now. She was as calm as ice, perfectly in control of herself. “Was that a cry for help,” Birgitte said, tilting her head, “or are you hungry? I suppose I could find a wet nurse in—” Elayne strode away with a snarl that would have done any of the leopards proud.
Robert Jordan (The Fires of Heaven (The Wheel of Time, #5))
She makes me crazy. She makes me happy. I think she's so beautiful that I want to just sit and look at her for hours. One minute I'm perfectly sane, and the next I'm totally losing it. She couldn’t give a shit less about the fact that I'm rich, and I think the woman is blind because I swear she doesn't even notice that I'm scarred. The way she looks at me sometimes makes me feel like I'm ten feet tall. And she's looking at me. Not the billionaire, not the wealthy executive. Just the man. She can be as stubborn as a damn mule, but I even like that because she's determined. Smart. Kind. And she puts up with my cranky ass, accepts me exactly as I am." Breathless from his tirade, Simon sucked in a trembling, uneven gulp of air. He slumped forward, his anger spent. "So, yeah. If these wild lunatic, possessive feelings for her that I have every fucking minute of every day are love...I'm screwed. I'm can't even imagine having to live my life without her.
J.S. Scott (Mine Forever (The Billionaire's Obsession, #1C))
You think this is the first time Lila’s been impulsive? Seriously, dude, you do remember my sister, right? Short, blonde, impulsive as shock therapy? Stubborn as a mule who won’t take no for an answer?’ Alex raises an eyebrow. Without reading his mind I can tell he’s thinking that that’s like the ear wax laughing at the snot.
Sarah Alderson (Catching Suki (Lila, #0.5))
What's she like? The princess, I mean." "Bullheaded. She's red headed, blue-eyed, and stubborn as a mule.
Christina Mobley (Elementris (The Vangeretta Curse, #1))
He was stubborn as a mule, clever as a monkey, and nimble as a hare.
Louis Pergaud
Mules had nothing on me when it came to being stubborn.
Ann Mayburn (Obsession (Cordova Empire, #1))
You cheeky fish.” “Stubborn mule.” “Bumbling buffoon.
Anyta Sunday (Pisces Hooks Taurus (Signs of Love, #4))
Yet his friend was in no way standard. He was freewheeling, mule-stubborn, and cunning as a coyote trickster. He had whole oceans inside of him, the wilds of the country, fierce ghosts, and a couple hundred million stars.
Stephen Markley (Ohio)
With all the global warming going around nowadays, it would only take the stubbornness of a mule and the patience of a sitting duck to achieve what no man has ever done before – namely melt the ice in a wax figure’s beaten heart that was chopped off and hidden 50 meters under the polar ice caps in Alaska, to protect it from feeling.
Will Advise (Nothing is here...)
I deserve a swift kick in the shorts for all the times I’ve stubbornly wound my way through the library stacks, my mule head leading the way, searching fruitlessly for information a librarian could put in my hands in a matter of minutes. – Michael Perry, Handbook for Freelance Writing
Tatyana Eckstrand
Excellence, he is known as the Mule. He is spoken of little, in a factual sense, but I have gathered the scraps and fragments of knowledge and winnowed out the most probable of them. He is apparently a man of neither birth nor standing. His father, unknown. His mother, dead in childbirth. His upbringing, that of a vagabond. His education, that of the tramp worlds, and the backwash alleys of space. He has no name other than that of the Mule, a name reportedly applied by himself to himself, and signifying, by popular explanation, his immense physical strength, and stubbornness of purpose.
Isaac Asimov (Foundation and Empire (Foundation, #2))
Susannah was soft, but she was resolute, stubborn as a mule when she wanted to be. She was pure steel underneath all her softness.
Jenny Han (The Summer I Turned Pretty (Summer, #1))
Tell me again why we’ve hated each other all these years?” “Because we’re both stubborn as mules?” he offers. I can’t help but laugh. “Yeah, I’d say that about covers it.
Kristi Cook (Magnolia (Magnolia Branch, #1))
Sexy as hell and stubborn as a mule.
R.G. Alexander (Curious (The Finn Factor #1))
Well, maybe the duke was a nicely bred racehorse, but I could see a bit of mule there. He’d go the distance out of sheer stubbornness.
Byrd Nash (Ghost Talker (Madame Chalamet Ghost Mysteries #1))
Like most Two Rivers folk, Rand had a strong stubborn streak. Outsiders sometimes said it was the prime trait of people in the Two Rivers, that they could give mules lessons and teach stones.
Robert Jordan (The Eye of the World (The Wheel of Time, #1))
The only problem I see is that you’re as stubborn as a mule, but I’m sure I’ll find a way to whip that right out of you.” “Literally or figuratively?” “That’s entirely up to your pain tolerance.
Kira Barker (Caught in the Middle)
You monosyllabic Neanderthal, I am not some little helpless female who can't walk across the brewery." He shrugged. "I did what was needed." "What the what?" She dropped the clipboard from beneath the hoodie and shoved her arms through its sleeves before rubbing her hands up and down her arms to warm them. "That doesn't even make sense." Sean doubted there were half-crazed mules more stubborn than Natalie Sweet. "If I hadn't, you would have stayed in that cooler, freezing your ass off until you'd said everything you wanted to say - which, by the way, is usually more words than most people use in a year.
Avery Flynn (Hollywood on Tap (Sweet Salvation Brewery, #2))
The argument went on and on, and they became locked in a confused rhetorical exchange that left them exhausted, each accusing the other of being more stubborn than a mule. But in the end they kissed each other good night and both were left with the feeling that the other was an extraordinary human being.
Isabel Allende (The House of the Spirits)
Mimoo shook her head. “Too sleepy for her maybe, but ideal for her mother, who worries too much. I don’t need excitement in my life. I’ve had enough of it, thank you.” She shrugged. “Gia will be fine. She’ll be fine anywhere.” “Gia?” “It’s Gia when I love her,” said Mimoo. “My husband never called her anything but that. Me, I love her, but she drives me crazy. So headstrong. To call her stubborn like a mule is an injustice to mules. The mules are St. Francis compared to her.” Harry laughed.
Paullina Simons (Children of Liberty (The Bronze Horseman, #0A))
That family of Elliotts has always been more stubborn than natteral. Marshall's brother Alexander had a dog he set great store by, and when it died the man actilly wanted to have it buried in the graveyard, 'along with the other Christians,' he said. Course, he wasn't allowed to; so he buried it just outside the graveyard fence, and never darkened the church door again. But Sundays he'd drive his family to church and sit by that dog's grave and read his Bible all the time service was going on. They say when he was dying he asked his wife to bury him beside the dog; she was a meek little soul but she fired up at THAT. She said SHE wasn't going to be buried beside no dog, and if he'd rather have his last resting place beside the dog than beside her, jest to say so. Alexander Elliott was a stubborn mule, but he was fond of his wife, so he give in and said, 'Well, durn it, bury me where you please. But when Gabriel's trump blows I expect my dog to rise with the rest of us, for he had as much soul as any durned Elliott or Crawford or MacAllister that ever strutted.
L.M. Montgomery
sided with the Red because when a Southerner tells you what they’re fighting for—be it tradition, pride, or just mule-headed stubbornness—you can agree or disagree, but you can’t call it a lie. When a Northerner tells you what they’re fighting for, they’ll use words like democracy and freedom and equality and the whole time both you and they know that the meaning of those words changes by the day, changes like the weather. I’d had enough of all that. You pick up a gun and fight for something, you best never change your mind. Right or wrong, you own your cause and you never, ever change your mind.
Omar El Akkad (American War)
In unfamiliar terrain, a plastic bag impaled on barbed wire is snapping in the breeze. Mules are skittish about that because they haven’t seen it before, and it reminds them of a predator. So the “muleteer” beats them there too. Eventually, when the mules tire of getting beaten, or are just fed up dealing with a less intelligent species, they use the tremendous power of their hind legs to kick out the tug chains and run away. For this, mules are known as “ornery.” In English we use the common phrase “stubborn as a mule,” a classic example of man ascribing stupidity to the beast instead of to himself.
Rinker Buck (The Oregon Trail: A New American Journey)
If they want to buy fish they buy them back at the highway; they don’t come to the village because they probably think we still scalp people and burn them around a post. They don’t know some of our people are lawyers in Portland, probably wouldn’t believe it if I told them. In fact, one of my uncles became a real lawyer and Papa says he did it purely to prove he could, when he’d rather poke salmon in the fall than anything. Papa says if you don’t watch it people will force you one way or the other, into doing what they think you should do, or into just being mule-stubborn and doing the opposite out of spite.
Ken Kesey (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest)
I’ve got some good physical therapy for you. Any good at fencing?” Joss almost choked on her mouthful of coffee. She sat up straight in her chair and shook her head. “No, Gus.” Troy ignored her. “I can fence in my sleep.” “Gus.” She narrowed her eyes at her father-in-law who could be stubborn as a mule. “He dislocated his elbow. He shouldn’t be doing any heavy lifting with his arm. Not to mention it’s going to be in a splint for a couple of weeks.” “He’s still got his right arm, don’t he?” “Yeah,” Troy drawled, amusement flattening his vowels even more than usual. “I’ve still got my right arm.” She glared at Gus. “You want to take on a one-armed fencer?” “Damien’s got his summer job starting today so I’m losing my sidekick and Cody’s out with his broken leg for another couple of weeks. It’d be handy to have even one extra hand on.” “I bet I can fence better one-armed than most men can with two.” There was no bravado to the claim. His expression was sincere and Joss believed him. She didn’t doubt this man could do a crap ton of things better than most men.
Amy Andrews (Troy (American Extreme Bull Riders Tour, #5))
I’ve waited long enough now. The answer is right there, but I can’t look at the pregnancy test. Because all of a sudden, I’m not remembering anymore. All of a sudden, I am dreaming—about a little boy with muddy-brown hair or a little girl with amber eyes who’s stubborn as a mule. I’m dreaming about being the kind of mom I always wanted—about impromptu dance parties and wiping flour off of little noses and rolling down grassy hills just because we can. “You’re crying.” Nash is on the other side of the bathroom doors. I’m a silent crier. There’s no way he can actually know that there are tears streaming down my cheeks. And yet, he does. I open the door. His hands are gentle, calluses lightly skimming my cheek as he wipes away my tears. “If you’ve got a name,” he tells me, “I’d take it. He’s asking for the name of the person who made me cry. I take a deep breath and look past him, toward the counter and the object laying on the counter, and I give him something else. “Hannah,” I say, and then I swallow. “For a girl, I was thinking Hannah.” I see the shift in his expression, and suddenly, there’s nothing steady or understanding about what I see in his eyes, and I know— He’s dreaming, too. And it’s beautiful.
Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Games Untold: An Inheritance Games Collection)
Tell me again why we’ve hated each other all these years?” “Because we’re both stubborn as mules?” he offers. I can’t help but laugh. “Yeah, I’d say that about covers it.” “I love you, Jemma. I’ll wait as long as it takes for you to feel the same. I’ll wait forever if I have to.” I suck in a breath. He doesn’t know. How would he? He’s said it to me, but I’ve never once said it back. “Trust me, you had me at ‘prettiest girl in all of Magnolia Branch,’ and then you sealed the deal with that whole ‘best shot’ thing.” “Wait…Are you saying…I mean--” “Shhh.” I put my finger against his lips. “Though you’re really cute when you’re stuttering like that.” “Hey, I don’t stutter.” “Neither do I. I love you, Ryder Marsden. See?” I rise up on tiptoe and press my lips against his. His arms encircle my waist, drawing me closer, till there’s no space whatsoever between our bodies, till I can’t tell where he ends and I begin. His mouth moves against mine, and he kisses me hungrily. Thoroughly. Expertly. And so very hotly. This kiss is somehow different from the ones that have come before it. It’s a promise that he is mine, that I am his. It’s an acceptance of our fate. It’s the ultimate acknowledgement of something that’s been there all along, just waiting for us to discover it. To enjoy it. To celebrate it. So we do.
Kristi Cook (Magnolia (Magnolia Branch, #1))
You can’t do that again, Josie. I don’t want you to take care of me. I know you did it because you do care….but don’t take my pride from me.” “Is pride more important than friendship?” I said sadly. “Yes!” Samuel’s voice was harsh and emphatic. “That is so ridiculous!” I threw my arms wide in frustration. “Josie! You are just a little girl! You don’t know how helpless and weak and stupid it made me feel to stand there while you arranged my life like I was some kind of charity case!” Samuel fisted his hands in his hair and growling, turned towards the door. “I am not a little girl! I haven’t been a little girl for years…forever! I don’t think like a little girl, I don’t act like a little girl. I don’t LOOK like a little girl, do I? Don’t you dare say I am a little girl!” I pounded down on the piano keys - playing a violent riff, reminiscent of Wagner himself. Now I knew what Sonja meant by letting out the beast! I wanted to throw something, or smash something, and scream at Samuel. He was so impossible! Such a stubborn, mule-headed jerk! I played hard for several minutes, and Samuel stood at the door, dumbfounded. Suddenly Samuel sat down beside me on the piano bench and put his hands over the top of mine, bringing the din to a halt. “I’m sorry, Josie,” Samuel said softly. I was crying, tears dripping down onto the keys, making them slippery. I was a terrible beast, not fierce at all - just a blubbering baby beast. Samuel seemed at a loss. He sat very still, his hands covering mine. Slowly, his hands rose to my face and gently wiped the tears from my cheeks. “Will you play something else?” He requested softly, his voice remorseful. “Will you play something for me....please?
Amy Harmon (Running Barefoot)
She was a new world - a place of endless mysteries and unexpected delights, an enchanting mixture of woman and child. She supervised the domestic routine with deceptive lack of fuss. With her there, suddenly his clothes were clean and had their full complement of buttons; the stew of boots and books and unwashed socks in his wagon vanished. There were fresh bread and fruit preserves on the table; Kandhla's eternal grilled steaks gave way to a variety of dishes. Each day she showed a new accomplishment. She could ride astride, though Sean had to turn his back when she mounted and dismounted. She cut Sean's hair and made as good a job of it as his barber in Johannesburg. She had a medicine chest in her wagon from which she produced remedies for every ailing man or beast in the company. She handled a rifle like a man and could strip and clean Sean's Mannlicher. She helped him load cartridges, measuring the charges with a practised eye. She could discuss birth and procreation with a clinical objectivity and a minute later blush when she looked at him that way. She was as stubborn as a mule, haughty when it suited her, serene and inscrutable at times and at others a little girl. She would push a handful of grass down the back of his shirt and run for him to chase her, giggle for minutes at a secret thought, play long imaginative games in which the dogs were her children and she talked to them and answered for them. Sometimes she was so naive that Sean thought she was joking until he remembered how young she was. She could drive him from happiness to spitting anger and back again within the space of an hour. But, once he had won her confidence and she knew that he would play to the rules, she responded to his caresses with a violence that startled them both. Sean was completely absorbed in her. She was the most wonderful thing he had ever found and, best of all, he could talk to her.
Wilbur Smith (When the Lion Feeds (Courtney, #1))
Where will you go if you don’t get into NYU?” he asks. “Where else?” I say. “Ole Miss, with Lucy and Morgan.” “Then Ole Miss is my backup too. Here’s the thing, Jem. I’m going wherever you’re going--whether it’s New York or Oxford. I’m not missing my chance this time.” “Why?” The word just tumbles out of my mouth before I can stop myself. “You’re going to be some kind of college superstar, whether it’s the SEC or the Ivy league. You’ll probably win a freaking Heisman.” “And you just might win an Oscar,” he counters. I roll my eyes. “Yeah, right. Please.” “Why not? God, Jemma, you don’t even see it. How strong and smart and tenacious you are. Everything you do, you do well. I’ve never seen you put your mind to something and not come out on top. You win that trophy at cheer camp every single summer--what’s it called, the superstar award? Only three people at the whole camp get it or something like that, right?” “How’d you know about that?” “Miss Shelby told my mom. I think they put it in the yearbook, too, don’t they?” “Maybe,” I say with a shrug. It’s not that big of a deal. It’s just a cheerleading trophy. “And how long did it take you to win your first shooting tournament after your dad bought you that gun? Six months, tops? From what I hear, you’re the best shot in all of Magnolia Branch.” “Okay, that’s true,” I say, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. He reaches for my hand. “And then there’s those dresses you make, like the one you wore to homecoming. You take something old and make it new--turn it into something special. My mom says you and Lucy could make a fortune selling ’em, and I bet she’s right. Don’t you see? You’re not just good at the stuff you do--you’re the best. That’s just the way you are. So I have no doubt that you’re going to be some award-winning filmmaker if you put your mind to it.” My heart swells unexpectedly. “You really think that?” He nods, his dark eyes shining. “I really do.” “Tell me again why we’ve hated each other all these years?” “Because we’re both stubborn as mules?” he offers. I can’t help but laugh. “Yeah, I’d say that about covers it.
Kristi Cook (Magnolia (Magnolia Branch, #1))
Miss Prudence Mercer Stony Cross Hampshire, England 7 November 1854 Dear Prudence, Regardless of the reports that describe the British soldier as unflinching, I assure you that when riflemen are under fire, we most certainly duck, bob, and run for cover. Per your advice, I have added a sidestep and a dodge to my repertoire, with excellent results. To my mind, the old fable has been disproved: there are times in life when one definitely wants to be the hare, not the tortoise. We fought at the southern port of Balaklava on the twenty-fourth of October. Light Brigade was ordered to charge directly into a battery of Russian guns for no comprehensible reason. Five cavalry regiments were mowed down without support. Two hundred men and nearly four hundred horses lost in twenty minutes. More fighting on the fifth of November, at Inkerman. We went to rescue soldiers stranded on the field before the Russians could reach them. Albert went out with me under a storm of shot and shell, and helped to identify the wounded so we could carry them out of range of the guns. My closest friend in the regiment was killed. Please thank your friend Prudence for her advice for Albert. His biting is less frequent, and he never goes for me, although he’s taken a few nips at visitors to the tent. May and October, the best-smelling months? I’ll make a case for December: evergreen, frost, wood smoke, cinnamon. As for your favorite song…were you aware that “Over the Hills and Far Away” is the official music of the Rifle Brigade? It seems nearly everyone here has fallen prey to some kind of illness except for me. I’ve had no symptoms of cholera nor any of the other diseases that have swept through both divisions. I feel I should at least feign some kind of digestive problem for the sake of decency. Regarding the donkey feud: while I have sympathy for Caird and his mare of easy virtue, I feel compelled to point out that the birth of a mule is not at all a bad outcome. Mules are more surefooted than horses, generally healthier, and best of all, they have very expressive ears. And they’re not unduly stubborn, as long they’re managed well. If you wonder at my apparent fondness for mules, I should probably explain that as a boy, I had a pet mule named Hector, after the mule mentioned in the Iliad. I wouldn’t presume to ask you to wait for me, Pru, but I will ask that you write to me again. I’ve read your last letter more times than I can count. Somehow you’re more real to me now, two thousand miles away, than you ever were before. Ever yours, Christopher P.S. Sketch of Albert included As Beatrix read, she was alternately concerned, moved, and charmed out of her stockings. “Let me reply to him and sign your name,” she begged. “One more letter. Please, Pru. I’ll show it to you before I send it.” Prudence burst out laughing. “Honestly, this is the silliest things I’ve ever…Oh, very well, write to him again if it amuses you.
Lisa Kleypas (Love in the Afternoon (The Hathaways, #5))
That black horse we used for packin’ up here is the most cantankerous beast alive,” Jake grumbled, rubbing his arm. Ian lifted his gaze from the initials on the tabletop and turned to Jake, making no attempt to hide his amusement. “Bit you, did he?” “Damn right he bit me!” the older man said bitterly. “He’s been after a chuck of me since we left the coach at Hayborn and loaded those sacks on his back to bring up here.” “I warned you he bites anything he can reach. Keep your arm out of his way when you’re saddling him.” “It weren’t my arm he was after, it was my arse! Opened his mouth and went for it, only I saw him outter the corner of my eye and swung around, so he missed.” Jakes’s frown darkened when he saw the amusement in Ian’s expression. “Can’t see why you’ve bothered to feed him all these years. He doesn’t deserve to share a stable with your other horses-beauties they are, every one but him.” “Try slinging packs over the backs of one of those and you’ll see why I took him. He was suitable for using as a pack mule; none of my other cattle would have been,” ian said, frowning as he lifted his head and looked about at the months of accumulated dirt covering everything. “He’s slower’n a pack mule,” Jake replied. “Mean and stubborn and slow,” he concluded, but he, too, was frowning a little as he looked around at the thick layers of dust coating every surface. “Thought you said you’d arranged for some village wenches to come up here and clean and cook fer us. This place is a mess.” “I did. I dictated a message to Peters for the caretaker, asking him to stock the place with food and to have two women come up here to clean and cook. The food is here, and there are chickens out in the barn. He must be having difficulty finding two women to stay up here.” “Comely women, I hope,” Jake said. “Did you tell him to make the wenches comely?” Ian paused in his study of the spiderwebs strewn across the ceiling and cast him an amused look. “You wanted me to tell a seventy-year-old caretaker who’s half-blind to make certain the wenches were comely?” “Couldn’ta hurt ‘t mention it,” Jake grumbled, but he looked chastened. “The village is only twelve miles away. You can always stroll down there if you’ve urgent need of a woman while we’re here. Of course, the trip back up here may kill you,” he joked referring to the winding path up the cliff that seemed to be almost vertical. “Never mind women,” Jake said in an abrupt change of heart, his tanned, weathered face breaking into a broad grin. “I’m here for a fortnight of fishin’ and relaxin’, and that’s enough for any man. It’ll be like the old days, Ian-peace and quiet and naught else. No hoity-toity servants hearin’ every word what’s spoke, no carriages and barouches and matchmaking mamas arrivin’ at your house. I tell you, my boy, though I’ve not wanted to complain about the way you’ve been livin’ the past year, I don’t like these servents o’ yours above half. That’s why I didn’t come t’visit you very often. Yer butler at Montmayne holds his nose so far in t’air, it’s amazin’ he gets any oxhegen, and that French chef o’ yers practically threw me out of his kitchens. That what he called ‘em-his kitchens, and-“ The old seaman abruptly broke off, his expression going from irate to crestfallen, “Ian,” he said anxiously, “did you ever learn t’ cook while we was apart?” “No, did you?” “Hell and damnation, no!” Jake said, appalled at the prospect of having to eat anything he fixed himself.
Judith McNaught (Almost Heaven (Sequels, #3))
In most situations of confrontation, it’s best to just walk away or change the subject respectively. Especially when you know that person is super stubborn and won’t budge. It honestly would be better discussing your lifestyle changes with a mule.
Harken Headers (Health & Not Screwing It Up)
Mrs. Singe passed on,” said Gammer Brevis. “And Gammer Peavey passed on.” “Did she? Old Mabel Peavey?” said Nanny Ogg, through a shower of crumbs. “How old was she?” “One hundred and nineteen,” said Gammer Brevis. “I said to her, ‘You don’t want to go climbing mountains at your age’ but she wouldn’t listen.” “Some people are like that,” said Granny. “Stubborn as mules. Tell them they mustn’t do something and they won’t stop till they’ve tried it.” “I actually heard her very last words,” said Gammer. “What did she say?” said Granny. “As I recall, ‘oh bugger,’” said Gammer. “It’s the way she would have wanted to go,” said Nanny Ogg. The other witches nodded.
Terry Pratchett (Witches Abroad (Discworld, #12))
It’s what I know. They’re strong. And smart. And stubborn. The best parts of a horse and a donkey rolled into one.” “Horses are prettier. Better to draw too.” “Horses are like big dogs. Men and dogs belong together. Men and horses too. But mules . . . they just put up with us. They aren’t eager to please.
Amy Harmon (Where the Lost Wander)
girl. They rode silently while Coram thought, and drank. The threat about making him see things didn’t worry him much. Instead he thought of Thom’s performance in archery—it was enough to make a soldier cry. Alanna was much quicker than her brother. She rarely tired, even hiking over rough country. She had a feel for the fighting arts, and that was something that never could be learned. She was also as stubborn as a mule. Because he was absorbed in his thoughts, Coram never saw the wood snake glide across the road. Alanna—and Coram’s horse—spotted the slithery creature in the same second. The big gelding reared, almost throwing his master. Chubby stopped dead in the road, surprised by these antics.
Tamora Pierce (Alanna: The First Adventure (Song of the Lioness, #1))
Whereas a horse might willingly undertake whatever it was trained to do, a mule would sometimes decide that it knew better.
Daniel Thorman (Chaos in the Caravan (The Osten Chronicles #2))
The stubborn old mule! ” he shouted. “ She’s crazy! I could have her locked up to-morrow! That would teach her a lesson and save a deal of trouble——” I had never seen anybody in such a fury before and to tell the truth I was terrified. I had heard that people sometimes had fits when they flew into rages and I expected that any minute Uncle Matt might fall down dead. I dodged past him and ran up the stairs, pursued by the sound of his voice, hoarse with anger.
D.E. Stevenson (Five Windows)
Navy ships, just like the men on board, had distinct personalities. Some ran like clockwork; others ran counterclockwise. Some were blessed, some were cursed. Some had swagger and wanted to be out front. Some were shy and only wanted to be in back. Some were easier to love than others. Some were mule stubborn. The McKean was a plodder, a four-stack destroyer built in 1919, what the crew called a “piddle-diddle.” As the Allies made their offensive up the Solomon Islands chain, the McKean was dependable and uncomplaining. But she was tired,
Buzz Bissinger (The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II)
Mule's aren't stubborn, they're cautious.
Kyle York (Pratt and Whitney)
Boys become men, and men become stubborn. They insist on carrying all the burdens by themselves when they can easily share them with their women and daughters. We don’t distinguish between mules and hinnies when we load them, do we? So basically, we have given more equality to donkeys than to one another as people. And we are still none the wiser.
Ashish Khetarpal (Pushing Gods Out)
The man had the intelligence of the average fence post, the personality of a wounded warthog, and the stubbornness of a flea-bitten mule. Grace silently apologized to all the animals she’d just insulted.
Mary Connealy (Calico Canyon (Lassoed in Texas, #2))
ISIS Like Osiris, Isis was privy to the mysteries of perpetual birth. We know her image: a mother goddess breastfeeding her son Horus, as the Virgin Mary suckled Jesus much later on. But Isis was never what we might call a virgin. She began making love to Osiris when they were growing together inside their mother’s womb. And she practiced the world’s oldest profession for ten years in the city of Tyre. In the thousands of years that followed, Isis traveled the world resuscitating whores, slaves, and others among the damned. In Rome, she founded temples for the poor alongside bordellos. The temples were razed by imperial order, their priests crucified, but like stubborn mules they came back to life again and again. And when Emperor Justinian’s soldiers demolished the sanctuary of Isis on the island of Philae in the Nile, and built the very Catholic church of Saint Stephen on the ruins, Isis’s pilgrims continued paying homage to their errant goddess at the Christian altar.
Eduardo Galeano (Mirrors: Stories of Almost Everyone)
I’ve just been to see Audrey,” Beatrix said breathlessly, entering the private upstairs parlor and closing the door. “Poor Mr. Phelan isn’t well, and--well, I’ll tell you about that in a minute, but--here’s a letter from Captain Phelan!” Prudence smiled and took the letter. “Thank you, Bea. Now, about the officers I met last night…there was a dark-haired lieutenant who asked me to dance, and he--” “Aren’t you going to open it?” Beatrix asked, watching in dismay as Prudence laid the letter on a side table. Prudence gave her a quizzical smile. “My, you’re impatient today. You want me to open it this very moment?” ”Yes.” Beatrix promptly sat in a chair upholstered with flower-printed fabric. “But I want to tell you about the lieutenant.” “I don’t give a monkey about the lieutenant, I want to hear about Captain Phelan.” Prudence gave a low chuckle. “I haven’t seen you this excited since you stole that fox that Lord Campdon imported from France last year.” “I didn’t steal him, I rescued him. Importing a fox for a hunt…I call that very unsporting.” Beatrix gestured to the letter. “Open it!” Prudence broke the seal, skimmed the letter, and shook her head in amused disbelief. “Now he’s writing about mules.” She rolled her eyes and gave Beatrix the letter. Miss Prudence Mercer Stony Cross Hampshire, England 7 November 1854 Dear Prudence, Regardless of the reports that describe the British soldier as unflinching, I assure you that when riflemen are under fire, we most certainly duck, bob, and run for cover. Per your advice, I have added a sidestep and a dodge to my repertoire, with excellent results. To my mind, the old fable has been disproved: there are times in life when one definitely wants to be the hare, not the tortoise. We fought at the southern port of Balaklava on the twenty-fourth of October. Light Brigade was ordered to charge directly into a battery of Russian guns for no comprehensible reason. Five cavalry regiments were mowed down without support. Two hundred men and nearly four hundred horses lost in twenty minutes. More fighting on the fifth of November, at Inkerman. We went to rescue soldiers stranded on the field before the Russians could reach them. Albert went out with me under a storm of shot and shell, and helped to identify the wounded so we could carry them out of range of the guns. My closest friend in the regiment was killed. Please thank your friend Prudence for her advice for Albert. His biting is less frequent, and he never goes for me, although he’s taken a few nips at visitors to the tent. May and October, the best-smelling months? I’ll make a case for December: evergreen, frost, wood smoke, cinnamon. As for your favorite song…were you aware that “Over the Hills and Far Away” is the official music of the Rifle Brigade? It seems nearly everyone here has fallen prey to some kind of illness except for me. I’ve had no symptoms of cholera nor any of the other diseases that have swept through both divisions. I feel I should at least feign some kind of digestive problem for the sake of decency. Regarding the donkey feud: while I have sympathy for Caird and his mare of easy virtue, I feel compelled to point out that the birth of a mule is not at all a bad outcome. Mules are more surefooted than horses, generally healthier, and best of all, they have very expressive ears. And they’re not unduly stubborn, as long they’re managed well. If you wonder at my apparent fondness for mules, I should probably explain that as a boy, I had a pet mule named Hector, after the mule mentioned in the Iliad. I wouldn’t presume to ask you to wait for me, Pru, but I will ask that you write to me again. I’ve read your last letter more times than I can count. Somehow you’re more real to me now, two thousand miles away, than you ever were before. Ever yours, Christopher P.S. Sketch of Albert included
Lisa Kleypas (Love in the Afternoon (The Hathaways, #5))
That was Clay's olive branch to Quinn, and if the sumbitch weren't as stubborn as a mule, he'd take it.
Shyloh Morgan (Chasing Midnight (The Darkest Desires of Dixie, #1))
That was Clay's olive branch to Quinn, and if the sumbitch weren't as stubborn as a mule, he'd take it.
Alex Morgan (Chasing Midnight (The Darkest Desires of Dixie, #1))
Be mule-like stubborn about your happy
TemitOpe Ibrahim
I believe you can’t be in authority unless you are under authority, and being under authority takes humility. Humility is the fertile ground in which a person’s character grows.
Ty Schenzel (A Thousand Screaming Mules: The Story of Stubborn Hope and One Dad's Dream to Transform Kids' Lives)
Nod house turned into shout house. In the shout house memory said shut up. It said silence, misery said amen, the mule's head meant my stubborn lungs. . . I stood imagining I fell back dreaming, stuck tongue stuck in my jaw broke my jaw
Nathaniel Mackey (Nod House (New Directions Paperbook))
I was an absolute ass, as in the stubborn-mule kind rather than someone’s bottom.
Soraya M. Lane (The Last Correspondent)
You and Jamie were easy. But Martyn's all kinds of stubborn. He would've made a great mule.
Tricia Mingerink (Deliver (The Blades of Acktar, #4))
They say a heart breaks, but it doesn't. It goes on working, mute and stubborn as a mule.
Rupert Thomson (Never Anyone But You)
Rylan got a stubborn mule look, like he was going to demand she accept his apology and his proposal before he agreed to move. Then he looked around and said, “I think I can get up on my own. I’ll boost myself up on the back steps, then I should be able to stand from there.” Maizy stayed back. “Give it a try. You may not need my help.” “I will always need you, Maizy, and not just because I need your hard work.” They were looking right at each other. Her kneeling, him sitting. Then he smiled. “Don’t wander off.
Mary Connealy (Spitfire Sweetheart (Four Weddings and a Kiss))
Eve was a shy woman. A woman who had spent years hidden away from the world, traumatized by their shared past. True, she was also stubborn as a mule when she wanted to be, but he never should've put her in the position of facing off against Makepeace. He'd obviously proved too overwhelming for her. God only knew what the pleasure garden owner had done to Eve to make her agree to marry him.
Elizabeth Hoyt (Duke of Sin (Maiden Lane, #10))
He’s a creative genius and as stubborn as a mule.
Ella Dominguez (This Love's Not for Sale)
Modern Mississippi reverberates with human history. Shotgun shacks and silver metal cotton gins go the way of the lowly mule, sexless beast of burden replaced by soulless progress tractor, strip mining the black dirt in parallel lines of row crop conformity, bending the rhythm of the land to the stubborn will of corporate agriculture, evil grandchild of the plantation.
Jim Dickinson (I'm Just Dead, I'm Not Gone (American Made Music Series))
He was stubborn as a mule, clever as a monkey, and nimble as a hare.
Cornelia Funke (Inkspell (Inkworld, #2))
uh, what are the rules about that?” I asked. “It will not affect me on this quest,” Sam promised. “I didn’t want to say anything, because I didn’t want anyone worrying. It’s just no drinking or eating during daylight hours.” “Or bathing,” Amir said. “Or cursing. Or smoking. Or violence.” “Which is fine,” Alex said, “because our quests never involve violence.” Sam rolled her eyes. “I can still defend myself if attacked. It’s only one month—” “One month?” I asked. “I’ve done this every year since I was ten,” Sam said. “Believe me, it’s no big deal.” It sounded like a pretty big deal to me, especially in the summer when the days were so long, and we’d be facing all sorts of life-and-death situations that would not wait until after regular business hours. “Couldn’t you, like, take a rain check until after our quest?” “She could,” Amir said. “That’s allowable if you’re traveling, or if fasting would be too dangerous, both of which are true in this case.” “But she won’t,” Alex chimed in. “Because she is as stubborn as a very devout mule.” Sam poked Alex in the ribs. “Watch it, brother.” “Ow,” Alex complained. “What happened to no violence?” “I was defending myself,” Sam said.
Rick Riordan (The Ship of the Dead (Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, #3))
Not without the mortals,” my mother insisted. She had that jaw-set, brow-creased, feet-planted look that said she wouldn’t be swayed. If I was stubborn as a mule, my mother was a mountain.
Penn Cole (Heat of the Everflame (Kindred's Curse, #3))
A tree in the middle of a giant rock may grow up if it is stubborn like hell! Sometimes to be successful in life is simply made up of being stubborn as a mule!
Mehmet Murat ildan