The Washerman's Donkey and Dog
Once upon a time there lived a washerman in a small town. He had a dog and a donkey. The dog used to guard the master’s house and the donkey used to carry stacks of clothes daily on his back to and from the washerman’s house and river.
One night, a thief broke into the washerman’s house. The dog saw the thief and started barking. Hearing his dog's barking the washerman got up immediately and caught the thief. The washerman felt so proud of his dog that he started giving special care and attention to the dog that day onward.
Seeing all these, the donkey became jealous and unhappy. He thought “My master thinks the dog is a more useful animal than me and so loves him more”. He felt the master did not value his contribution.
The donkey concluded that to get more value and love from the master, he will have to show his master that he too can be useful like the dog.
A few days passed by. On an unfortunate night, another thief tried breaking into the washerman’s house. But when the thief saw the dog sitting just outside the main door, he got scared and fled. On seeing this, donkey thought “this is the right opportunity for me to show my master that I am also useful to him the way the dog is. He will start giving me all the extra care from now on”.
He started braying at the top of his voice. The washerman woke up and looked around. Since the thief had already fled, the washerman couldn’t find anyone. He got furious at the donkey for disturbing his sleep in the middle of the night. The washerman came out with a stick and thrashed the poor donkey very badly. Seeing the poor donkey's condition the dog told him “It is better to do your duties than trying to copy me”. The donkey understood his foolishness. Thereafter the donkey and the dog remained good friends.
