One who steals an ox or a sheep and then slaughters it or sells it to others pays five times the value of the ox or four times the value of the sheep to the owner. The Sages disagree as to the rationale for the difference in payment between the two animals.

Rabbi Meir said: Come and see how precious labor is before He who spoke and the world came into being: For stealing and then slaughtering or selling an ox, which performs labor, one pays five times its value; for stealing and then slaughtering or selling a sheep, which does not perform labor, one pays only four times its value. Rabban Yohanan ben Zakkai says: The Holy One, blessed be He, is concerned with human dignity. For stealing and then slaughtering or selling an ox, because it walks on its feet when the thief leads it away, he pays five times its value; for stealing and then slaughtering or selling a sheep, because the thief carries it on his shoulder [which causes him embarrassment], he pays only four times its value. (Mekhilta deRabbi Yishmael, Mishpatim, Mesekhta deNezikin 30)