Taking the Donkey to Market
Once upon a time there was a man
who had to take his donkey to market; his wife decided to accompany him so that
they could enjoy a day together in the town. As they walked along side by side,
leading the donkey, they met a farmer who said to them:
‘Fancy seeing two people having to
walk when they have a perfectly good donkey upon which they could ride. Some
people don’t seem to understand what animals are for.’
Stung by these comments, the man
suggested to his wife that she should ride the donkey for a while.
They continued in this way until they
met an old man who addressed them as follows:
‘Women today! In my day, a wife
would have been ashamed to be seen riding on the back of a donkey while her
husband had to walk.’
The wife felt ashamed when she heard
these words and refused to ride on the donkey any longer. She insisted that her
husband change places with her, so that he could ride while she led the donkey.
After a little while they met an old
woman, who was shocked by what she saw, and she scolded the man for treating his
wife so badly: ‘What sort of man are you, that can bear to ride along in
comfort while your poor wife is having to lead your donkey. You are an unworthy
husband!’
The couple were perplexed; they had
been reproved for simply leading the donkey, for the wife leading the donkey,
and for the husband leading the donkey. The only solution seemed for them both
to ride on the donkey’s back the rest of the way to market - then surely
everyone would be happy.
The wife climbed up behind her
husband, and they continued on their way.
Soon they met a mother walking along
the road with her children. All the children began to cry; they asked their
mother how anyone could be so cruel as to treat an animal so unkindly - two big
people riding on the back of one little donkey!
The man and his wife were deeply
ashamed. They climbed off the donkey and did not know how they could proceed any
further. They found a large pole, tied the donkey to it by its legs, tipped it
upside down and lifted the pole onto their shoulders. They then set off once
again, this time carrying the donkey between them.
They struggled on their way, groaning
under the weight of their burden, but confident that now at last they would win
people’s approval. Sadly this did not prove to be the case - as they entered
the outskirts of the town, people came out of their houses to stare at them;
soon a large crowd had gathered, with people calling out, laughing, and making
fun of the poor couple. Never had anyone seen anything so stupid as two people
carrying their donkey to market.
The End