There’s an old post-apocalyptic story I’m trying to remember the title to. I think it’s an Asimov story or at least hinges on part of his laws of robotics. In the story, a life form comes to be in a broken down world, and is being educated by a small robot about the way of the world, and how there used to be humans, but they’re gone now.
The small robot says that the closest thing to a human anymore is an earth mover that has some people parts stuck in it, and they all hate the earth mover because it rumbles around telling the story of the people stick in its craw, and all the robots must listen because the earth mover is the closest thing left in the world to a human being.
As the small robot is telling the tale, the earth mover appears, and starts to tell it’s story. The new life form puts up it’s hand and says 'stop’or something, and the earth mover does. There’s much rejoicing, as the robots realize this is human reborn.
Again, pretty sure it’s an Asimov, or at least in that vein. Also really sure it was part of an anthology, because the previous story was about an automated house going about it’s routine even after the people were gone.
I first read the story probably in the late eighties or very early nineties, if that helps place it at all.