Who wrote The Mule?

• A. Lew Wallace
• B. Ray Bradbury
• C. James Whitcomb Riley
• D. Josh Billings

Answer: (D)

Recognizing an author's voice and typical topics helps you match a work to its creator. Josh Billings, a 19th‑century American humorist known for plainspoken, folksy humor and short humorous pieces about everyday life, is a natural fit for a title like The Mule. His pieces often use a light, comedic setup with a little moral or observation about human nature, which suits a story or essay built around a mule and the situations it inspires. The other writers are known for very different kinds of work: Lew Wallace is remembered for historical and adventure novels; Ray Bradbury for science fiction and fantasy; James Whitcomb Riley for dialect poetry and sentimental verse. So the author whose humor and approachable voice align with the title and tone of The Mule is Josh Billings.