An Old Man and an Ass

Once an old man and his son were going to the market to sell an ass. They walked along beside the ass. A passer-by commented, “How foolish you are! Why don’t you ride the ass instead of walking along?”

At this, the old man lifted his son onto the ass. A little further, another traveler said to the boy, “You rascal! How can you ride the ass, when your old father trudges along” The son felt ashamed and made his father sit on the ass.

Then they came across a third person, who was shocked that the old man was riding the ass while his little son walked.

The father and the son then tied the ass’s legs together and carried it on a pole. This amused everyone present there. Angry at being mocked at, they threw the ass into the river. Another man, who saw this, saved the ass and took it home.