Story: Saving the Donkey

Story. There was a plague among the animals, and it impacted all types of animals. As many of them died, the animals pondered the cause of the plague. They were afraid they would be next. A group of animals conversed with each other.

The bird said, “It’s the bats. They carry the disease through their claws.”

The snake said, “It’s the rats. They carry a disease through their teeth.”

The wolf said, “It’s the serpent whose revenge will get us all.”

The lion king abruptly stated, “No, it is our actions that caused this plague. As king of all animals, I say we confess our wrongdoings and pinpoint the worst animal of all. That animal would have caused this mess. I will begin. I have many lionesses, and they are all lonely. I am wrong for causing them to fight.”

The bird replied, “No, King. You need to create many heirs to govern the other animals. With your strong traits, your heirs will rule the land for a millennium years to come.”

The snake confessed, “It is I who has sinned. I danced with my beloved rat and got the disease from her by accidentally killing her. When I saw her carcass, I fed upon her without thinking. We both loved each other, yet I could not help myself.”

The wolf said, “No, it is my fault. I tricked the serpent into killing sheep while I did nothing. I ran off with the kill. When the serpent chased me, I severely hurt him. He then cast a curse on me and those I associate with.”

After a long awkward moment, the donkey chimed in, “Well, I was so hungry, I ate grass from another animal’s land.”

The lion roared, “What?! You knew it was his land yet you atrociously ravaged his grass?”

Seeing the lion’s disapproval, the bird shrieked, “Get him!” They all chased the donkey so quickly that animals along the road thought a dust storm was approaching.

As the donkey ran, he yelled, “Why get me when you all did worse?” Then, he saw a herd of donkey, and pleaded, “Help, friends. I am in dire stress. Animals are trying to kill me for no reason.”

Seeing the donkey’s dismay, the herd of donkeys stood still and put on their meanest face. The chasing animals saw the group and immediately ran the other way because they were outnumbered.

The head of the herd advised, “Next time, stay away from that lot. The lion could have easily killed you, and shared you with the others. They are up to no good.”

The donkey said, “But they’re the only people I know. I have been roaming alone the whole time until I found them.”

The head donkey said, “Son, if they think of killing you, they are not your friends. Safe travels.” He then motioned for all the donkeys to continue their planned path.

The donkey longingly looked towards the direction where his ‘friends’ ran off. He glimpsed at the other group that was not too far away, and ran after them.

He caught up to the head donkey and asked, “Thank you for your help, Mister. May I join your herd?”

The head donkey smiled and nodded his head. The other donkeys introduced themselves to him, eager to know him.

A few months later, the donkey saw his old company far off in the distance chasing the wolf. He shook his head and joined his herd.

(Donkey: Wiki Commons)

Author’s Note. In the original story, The Animals and the Plague, from Aesop for Children by Winters, the animals actually had a plague and confessed their wrongdoings like the beginning of my story. However, the difference is that the donkey was beaten up by the other animals. While reading the story, I felt injustice for the donkey. Therefore, I wrote this story so that the donkey would live in another dimension other than his original story.

Bibliography. Aesop for Children by Milo Winters; link to reading online.

Reading Notes: Aesop for Children (Winter) Part B

Notes. Like Part A, Part B included many interesting stories and morals. However, Part A included more stories that interested me. In Part B, the two main stories I liked were Mercury and the Woodman and The Animals and the Plague.

In Mercury and the Woodman, the moral is: Honesty is the best policy. I really like this moral. I admire how the woodman did not cave in to the gold and silver axes. He was not greedy. I wonder what the woodman said to the other people in the village. If he told them that they were supposed to deny the first few axes, they could have gotten more axes. Of course, that would defeat the whole purpose of this moral. However, if they were not too greedy and copied what the woodman did, they would be able to leave with gold and silver axes. Also, I liked how this story was not too short. It let me experience more about the story due to its length. I was not able to have a feel for the characters in the other stories because of how short it was.

(Mercury and the Woodman by Milo Winters. Web Source: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook.)

In The Animals and the Plague, the donkey is killed even though his confession is not as bad as the others. I feel sorry for the weak donkey, so I would change the story to make the donkey live through the means of running away or having someone help him. All he did was eat grass that did not belong to him, but others ate people and other animals. I feel like I need to give the donkey justice in a new story. 
 
Next, I want to talk about The Boy and the Nettles. This story confused me, and it was quite interesting to read. I did not know what nettles were, so I read about it. After briefly reading about it, it is hard to believe that a stinging nettle would be as soft as silk if it is held tightly. It does not make sense in my mind.

Bibliography. Aesop for Children by Milo Winter; link to reading online.

Reading Notes: Aesop for Children (Winter) Part A

Notes. Most of the stories I liked were in Part A. Like my previous stories, I may add more details to my next story or make it more modern. Since these stories provide the moral of the story at the end, I will use it as a foundation of my story. For example, in The Oxen and the Wheels, the moral is: They complain most who suffer least. I can come up with a story where a mother scolds her child and complains about her unfortunate life to her friends. However, because the mother's friend does not talk much and keeps to herself, the mother does not know what her friend is dealing with.

Some stories I liked were The Wolf and the Kid, The Eagle and the Jackdaw, The Oxen and the Wheels, The Lion and the Ass, and The Dogs and the Fox. All of these stories provide great morals, even the ones I did not mention. Of the ones I like, the stories I am very interested are The Wolf and the Kid and The Eagle and the Jackdaw.

As I read The Wolf and the Kid, I actually thought the kid was a human kid, but later remembered that a kid was also a young goat. Anyway, in this story, the kid tricks the wolf in to playing a tune before he eats him, and he later survives. I like how the kid tricked the wolf. It was very smart.

(The Wolf and Kid by Milo Winter. Web Source: Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook)

In the Eagle and the Jackdaw, it was interesting how the ram did not feel anything from the jackdaw. I would think that the ram would feel at least a tug, but there was nothing. This lack of feeling added to the jackdaw being weak. If I were to change the story, I would change it so the ram would feel something and fling the jackdaw far away. The jackdaw had the intent to kill the ram. It would be deserving if the ram did something to it.

Bibliography. Aesop for Children by Milo Winter; link to reading online.