Joha and His Donkey

One day, Joha decided to go to the market in the next town to buy some things. The journey was quite long, several kilometres, so he decided to take his donkey. He also took his young son with him.

At first, Joha put his son on the donkey's back, and Joha walked beside them. They walked along the dusty path. Soon, they passed a group of people resting under a tree. One person pointed at them and said loudly, "Look at that lazy boy! He rides the donkey while his poor old father has to walk in the hot sun."

Joha heard this and felt a bit uncomfortable. He didn't want people to think his son was lazy or unkind. So, he told his son to get off the donkey, and Joha climbed onto its back. His son now walked beside him.

They continued their journey. After a while, they met another group of people near a small farm. One of them shouted, "Oh, look at that man! He is so selfish. He rides the donkey comfortably while his poor little son has to walk on his small feet."

Joha heard this too. He thought, "What should I do? People are unhappy whatever we do." He thought for a moment and had an idea. He pulled his son up onto the donkey with him. Now, both Joha and his son were riding the donkey.

They went on their way. Soon, they passed near a well where some women were collecting water. One woman looked at them and said to her friend, "Look at those two! How horrible! They are both riding that poor, thin donkey. The animal looks so tired. They have no heart!"

Joha sighed. He felt very confused. He got off the donkey, and he told his son to get off too. "What can we do now?" he wondered. He looked at the donkey, and then he looked at his son. He thought again. "Maybe," he said, "we should carry the donkey!"

So, Joha and his son found a long, strong piece of wood. They tied the donkey's legs together and put the wood between them. Then, Joha lifted one end of the wood onto his shoulder, and his son lifted the other end. Now, they were carrying the donkey down the road!

As they came near the market, everyone stopped and stared. People started to laugh loudly. "Look! Look!" they shouted. "Two fools are carrying a donkey! We've never seen anything so crazy!"

Joha stopped. He realized that he couldn't please everyone. No matter what he did, someone would find something wrong. He learned that day that you should do what you think is right and not worry too much about what other people say.