The Story of a Donkey

do not know that there was a market in our country-town every Tuesday. At this market veg

y for market out of her garden. Then she would get on the top of all this and beat me with a hard, knotty stick because my poor thin legs didn’t carry her to market with all that load as fast as she liked. I trotted, I almost galloped, but that farmer’s wife whipped me all the same. I used to get very angry at such cruelty and injusti

itched me to a post, and went away to get her dinner. I was dying of hunger and thirst, but nobody thought of offering me a single blade of grass or a drop of water. Whil

e guessed that I was the culprit. I won’t repeat to you the mean things she said to me. When she was angry she used language which was enough to make me blush, donkey as I am. So after heaping me with abuse, of which I took no

of which were spread out the things I had brought to be sold in the market. I remained there a long while, and finding that no one paid any more attention

the way were astonish

that ass with the broke

prison,” said the other,

heavy load upon his

one some mischief,”

put the little one upon

well as the little boy

d good will, came gently towards the country woman

rt!” said the man, helpin

become angry, disobedient, and obstinate only to revenge ourselves for the blows and injuries

ars back to their home; they stroked me, were very mu

me and I be5longed to them. I had already broken my mistress’s nose, teeth,

lean over

clean over

ced was a spoiled child), I jumped to one side, and before the mother cou

s’s little girl,

d; “how early he is! Jim, come

s something to be done for him! Why is he a

meadow. Suddenly I heard shrieks. I looked over the hedge, and

-whip, and I shall tie that donkey to a tr

but mind and don’t kill him, for he co

not. I made a run and jumped clean over the hedge. Then I ran till I was out of sight and hearing in the depths of a beauti