The Donkey in the Well

Once upon a time, a farmer had a donkey that worked hard on his farm. The donkey was old but still helped carry loads and plow the fields. One day, while walking through the farm, the donkey accidentally fell into an old, dry well. The well was deep, and the donkey couldn’t climb out. It brayed loudly for help. The farmer rushed over and saw the donkey stuck at the bottom of the well. He felt sorry for the animal but didn’t know how to rescue it. The farmer thought about it and decided the well was too dangerous to leave open. He thought the donkey was too old to save and decided to fill the well to close it.

The farmer called his neighbors to help. They brought shovels and started throwing dirt into the well. When the donkey realized what was happening, it panicked and brayed louder. But as the dirt fell, the donkey suddenly had an idea. Each time dirt fell on its back, the donkey shook it off and stepped up on the new layer of dirt. The people kept shoveling, unaware of what the donkey was doing. Slowly, as more dirt filled the well, the donkey rose higher and higher. After some time, the well was almost full, and the donkey simply stepped out and walked away! The farmer and the neighbors were amazed. They laughed and patted the donkey, admiring its cleverness and will to survive.

Moral of the story: This story teaches an important lesson: when life throws challenges or "dirt" at you, don’t give up. Shake it off and step up, just like the donkey did. With determination and a positive attitude, you can overcome any difficulty.