The Donkey and the Load of Salt

Once there was a kind peddler who sold many things—shoes, shawls, toffees, fruits, and more. Every day, he loaded his goods onto his old donkey and walked from village to village, selling his wares. The peddler whistled happily as he walked, while the donkey followed behind, carrying the heavy load.

At the end of each day, they returned home. The peddler counted his coins with a smile, but the poor donkey dragged himself wearily to his stable, aching all over.

“Ah, my poor back!” the donkey would moan every night, collapsing on the hay.

An old grey cat, who also lived in the stable, would watch him sadly and whisper, “Poor old donkey,” before slipping off into the night.

One morning, the peddler packed the donkey with sacks full of salt. They were heavier than usual.

“This salt will make me rich today!” the peddler said, excitedly. “Everyone needs salt!”

The donkey groaned but said nothing, just followed as always.

Later that day, the donkey was hot and tired. He saw a stream ahead and rushed forward for a drink. But the edge was muddy and slippery. He lost his balance and fell into the water with a splash!

“Oh no! Help!” brayed the donkey, kicking in panic.

Then, suddenly, he felt lighter. The heavy load on his back was gone! What a surprise!

You see, the salt had melted in the water—but the donkey didn’t understand that. He thought it was magic.

“That’s it!” he thought. “If I fall into water, my load will disappear!”

That night, he told the old cat all about his clever idea.

“No more heavy loads for me!” said the donkey proudly.

The cat just shook her head. “Poor old donkey,” she muttered and walked away.

The next day, the peddler packed the donkey with big bundles of cloth.

“Be careful today, my friend,” the peddler said. “We made no money yesterday. I must sell all this today.”

Soon, they came to the same stream. The donkey smiled to himself, ran ahead, and pretended to slip again. Splash!

But this time, things went very wrong.

Instead of getting lighter, the cloth soaked up water and became much heavier! The donkey struggled and brayed in fear.

“Help! Help!” he cried.

The peddler ran to pull him out. Together, they got out of the stream, but the donkey was cold, wet, and more tired than ever.

That night, he lay shivering in the stable, sneezing and sore.

The old grey cat looked at him and said softly, “Poor old donkey,” before disappearing into the dark.