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A Donkey, A Man, His Son & A Lesson In Trying to Please Everyone

August 29 Dawn

A remix of an Aesop’s Fable …

Once upon a time…

Well, let’s say in 1167, a man left his farm to collect supplies and buy new stock from market. The market was held weekly in the fairy-tale walled city of Carcassonne in Southern France, a three day walk away.

He and his son traveled together, along with their donkey. 

When they entered the fields outside the ramparts the man was riding on the back of the donkey, and his son was leading with rope.

They made their way between workers tending to crops, and no sooner had they passed they heard a woman say, ‘That’s disgraceful, look at that vile man, what kind of a man is he, how selfish, him being carried and his son walking’.

The farmer felt so guilty he got off the donkey, put his son the back and he took the rope.

They crossed over the lowered bridge to the ramparts, where local food sellers were setting up for the busy day trading ahead.

No sooner had they passed when the farmer and son heard a passer-by shout, ‘What an ignorant child, look at him sitting on the back of that donkey and his father having to walk, he need taught some manners?’.

People PleasingPin Image

The boy was embarrassed and ashamed so he asked his father to join him and the ride the rest of the way, both on the back of the donkey.

They entered the square whereby a group of women, setting up their produce to be sold pointed at them both screaming, ‘You should be ashamed,  both of you sat up there, that poor donkey. You are both pathetic creatures’. 

They both decided to get off and walk the rest of the short way.

Outside a local inn people were eating and drinking, upon seeing the boy and his father they started to laugh and point, bringing out others to look at the sight, ‘What a fool. An ass. A perfectly good donkey and they walk!’

The father turned to his son and said, ‘Nothing we do is right. Someone will always disagree with the way we are doing things. Even without the full picture. From now on we make up our own minds of what we believe to be right’. 

And the moral is?

Yours, whatever you want it to be.

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