Click here to subscribe to updates!
.
In the mountains of Mexico lived a man called Pablo. Pablo’s family was very poor & simple & they had to work hard on their small farm to make a living. Over many long months they had saved their money to buy a donkey which would be able to pull their plow & carry heavy loads. At last they had enough money, & he & his son Juan walked the long, dusty road to town. There they bought a sturdy little donkey in the marketplace & soon they were leading it through the town on the road back home.
“Can I ride the donkey, please?” Juan asked.
“Of course!” his father answered, lifting him up onto the donkey’s back. “In fact, a good donkey should be able to carry me too!” he said, climbing onto the donkey’s back with Juan. They had not gone far when an old man indignantly muttered, “How terribly cruel you are to that poor little donkey, making it carry both of you!” Juan’s father was hurt & embarrassed & got off the donkey & led it along with Juan riding on it.
It was not long before a stern-looking woman sharply chided, “Oh, look how cruel that boy is to let his poor old father walk!”
Now Juan felt bad. He got down from the donkey & began walking & his father got back on the beast’s back. They hadn’t gone 50 paces before someone from the crowd called out, “Senor! How cruel you are to make your tired little boy walk while you ride!” Embarrassed, Juan’s father got off & they both walked, looking dejectedly at the ground as they led their donkey out of the village! A few minutes later they passed a group of men who began laughing at them; one of them said sarcastically, “Look how ridiculous they are! They’ve got a donkey, but they’re both walking!” Another called out to Juan’s father tauntingly, “Why don’t you do the donkey a favor then & carry him?”
Juan’s father was now angry. “What a good idea!” he said to the men. “It seems that some people will criticize & complain, no matter what you do to try to please them! So I might just as well learn how to carry my donkey too, if I am going to live my life by the opinions of others!” And with that, he tied the donkey’s legs to a pole, & he & Juan carried the donkey the last way out of town with the townspeople looking on astonished. Then they set the donkey down, untied it, & had a good laugh at the people of the town who were all staring at them. Never again would they let the criticism of opinionated people tell them what to do!
