English · Completing Story
The Man, the Boy and the Donkey
Completing story: a father changes his plan for every passer-by and loses the donkey.
A man and his son alter how they travel four times to satisfy four sets of critics.
The story begins: A man and his son were taking their donkey to the market to sell it. As they walked beside the animal, some people passing by began to laugh at them.
The Story
A man and his young son set out one morning to take their donkey to market. They walked along the road beside the animal, leading it by a rope.
Before long they passed a group of travellers who began to laugh. "Look at these fools," said one. "They have a donkey and yet they walk. What is a donkey for?"
The man thought there was sense in this, so he lifted his son on to the donkey's back and walked on beside them.
A little further on they met some old men sitting by the roadside. "See that," said one of them loudly. "A strong young boy rides while his poor old father walks. There is no respect left in the young."
Hearing this, the man told his son to get down, and climbed on to the donkey himself.
Soon they passed a group of women drawing water at a well. "Shame on him," cried one. "The father rides in comfort while the little boy trots along behind in the dust."
So the man pulled his son up in front of him, and the two rode on together.
As they came near the town, a farmer stopped them in the road. "Have you no pity?" he said. "Two of you on the back of that poor thin animal! You are better able to carry the donkey than the donkey is to carry you."
At this the man lost all patience with himself. He and the boy got down, cut a pole, tied the donkey's legs to it and lifted it on to their shoulders. In this way they staggered towards the town while everyone they met laughed at the sight.
On the bridge over the river the donkey, terrified by the noise and the swaying, struggled so violently that it broke free, fell into the water and was drowned. The man went home with nothing, having learned that he who tries to please everybody pleases nobody, and loses what he has besides.
Moral: He who tries to please everybody pleases nobody.
Frequently Asked Questions
That you cannot please everybody, and that trying to do so ends in losing everything. Each change the man makes satisfies the last critic and offends the next, until the final absurdity destroys the very thing he was taking to market.
Four works best: walking, the boy riding, the father riding, and both riding. Each must be answered by a change, and each change must invite the next criticism. Fewer than four and the pattern does not establish itself; more and it becomes repetitive.
In the traditional telling, yes, and the loss is what completes the moral — the man does not merely look foolish, he loses the animal. If you prefer a gentler ending, the donkey can escape, but the man must still arrive at market with nothing.
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