The Farmer, the Son, and the Donkey

One day, a farmer and his son were walking to town with their donkey. They were going to sell the donkey at the market.

On the road, they met some young girls. The girls laughed and said, “Look how foolish they are! Both of them are walking, and one of them could be riding on the donkey.” When the farmer heard this, he told his son to get up on the donkey and ride.

But soon they passed two men standing near the road. “Look at that!” said one of the men. “That young boy is riding while his poor old father has to walk.” So the son got off the donkey, and the farmer got on. They continued down the road toward town.

After a short time, they came to some old women standing at a corner. One of them asked the farmer, “How can you let the child walk while you ride? He must be very tired. What kind of father are you?” So the father lifted his son up, and both of them rode until they reached the town.

When they got to the town, a man saw them and asked, “Is that donkey yours?” “Yes,” said the farmer. “You are making the animal work too hard,” said the man. “You two are better able to carry that donkey than the donkey is to carry you!”.

The farmer and his son got off the donkey’s back. But they didn’t know how they could carry the animal. They thought and thought. Then the farmer had an idea. He cut a strong stick from a tree. Then he tied the donkey’s feet to it with strong rope. He carried one end of the wooden stick, and his son carried the other end.

At the town bridge, a crowd of people was standing and watching them. They were laughing, pointing, and talking loudly. The donkey was afraid of all noise. He began to kick at the ropes. Soon he pulled loose and fell into the water below. The donkey couldn’t swim, so he soon drowned.The farmer and his son felt very silly as they started home with no donkey and no money.

The moral of this story is “If you try to please everyone, you may not please anyone”