The Trader and The Donkey
After slipping into the river, a donkey notices his heavy load feels lighter. But what happens when he starts doing it on purpose?
Once upon a time, a hardworking donkey helped a trader carry heavy sacks of salt from the town to his home. Every day, they took the same long path. The load was heavy, but the donkey carried it without a fuss.
One afternoon, as they crossed a shallow river on their way home, the donkey slipped! He fell into the water, and the sacks of salt got soaked. The salt quickly dissolved, and when the donkey stood up, his load felt much lighter.
"Oh! This feels so much better!" the donkey thought, shaking off the water.
When they reached home, the trader saw the wet, empty sacks and muttered, “So, that’s what happened.” Though he wasn’t happy, he didn’t say anything.
The next day, as they reached the river again, the donkey remembered how easy the journey had been the day before. "If I fall again, my load will be lighter!" he thought. With a little grin, he let himself fall into the water on purpose.
Just like before, the salt disappeared, and his load became light again.
"This is much easier!" the donkey thought, feeling proud of his clever trick.
But the trader had been watching. He sighed and shook his head. "I see what you're up to," he thought. "Let’s see if you try that again tomorrow."
The next morning, before leaving town, the trader came up with a plan. Instead of filling the sacks with salt, he packed them with soft, fluffy cotton.
As they reached the river, the donkey, feeling even smarter than before, let himself fall in again.
But this time, something was different. The cotton soaked up the water and became very heavy. When the donkey stood up, his load was now twice as heavy as before!
"Oh no! What happened?" he cried, struggling to walk. His legs shook under the weight.
The trader patted the donkey’s back and smiled. "Now you've learned your lesson, my friend. Tricks don’t always work the way you expect."
The donkey had no choice but to carry the heavy load all the way home. Step by step, he regretted trying to be tricky. After that day, he stopped falling into the river on purpose and carried his load honestly.
Featured in the Book Audio available for B1 version
Once upon a time, a hardworking donkey helped a trader carry heavy sacks of salt from the town to his home.
Every day, they took the same long path.
The load was heavy, but the donkey carried it without a fuss.
One afternoon, as they crossed a shallow river on their way home, the donkey slipped!
He fell into the water, and the sacks of salt got soaked.
The salt quickly dissolved, and when the donkey stood up, his load felt much lighter.
"Oh!
This feels so much better!" the donkey thought, shaking off the water.
When they reached home, the trader saw the wet, empty sacks and muttered, “So, that’s what happened.”
Though he wasn’t happy, he didn’t say anything.
The next day, as they reached the river again, the donkey remembered how easy the journey had been the day before.
"If I fall again, my load will be lighter!" he thought.
With a little grin, he let himself fall into the water on purpose.
Just like before, the salt disappeared, and his load became light again.
"This is much easier!" the donkey thought, feeling proud of his clever trick.
But the trader had been watching.
He sighed and shook his head.
"I see what you're up to," he thought.
"Let’s see if you try that again tomorrow."
The next morning, before leaving town, the trader came up with a plan.
Instead of filling the sacks with salt, he packed them with soft, fluffy cotton.
As they reached the river, the donkey, feeling even smarter than before, let himself fall in again.
But this time, something was different.
The cotton soaked up the water and became very heavy.
When the donkey stood up, his load was now twice as heavy as before!
"Oh no!
What happened?" he cried, struggling to walk.
His legs shook under the weight.
The trader patted the donkey’s back and smiled.
"Now you've learned your lesson, my friend.
Tricks don’t always work the way you expect."
The donkey had no choice but to carry the heavy load all the way home.
Step by step, he regretted trying to be tricky.
After that day, he stopped falling into the river on purpose and carried his load honestly.
Ngexa elithile, idonki elikhutheleyo lanceda umrhwebi athwale iingxowa ezinzima zetyuwa esuka edolophini ezisa ekhayeni lakhe. Yonke imihla, babehamba ngendlela efanayo ende. Lo mthwalo wawunzima, kodwa idonki laliwuthwala ngaphandle kokuxhathisa.
Ngenye injikalanga, njengoko babewela umlambo ongekho nzulu xa begoduka, idonki latyibilika! Lawela emanzini, zaza iingxowa zetyuwa zamanzi. Ityuwa yanyibilika ngokukhawuleza, yaye xa idonki liphakama, umthwalo walo waba lula kakhulu.
"Owu! Oku kuvakala ngcono kakhulu!" idonki lacinga, Izivuthulula amanzi.
Ukufika kwabo ekhaya, umrhwebi wabona iingxowa ezimanzi, ezingenanto waza wambombozela, “Oh yiyo le into eyenzekileyo.” Nangona wayengonwabanga, akazange athethe nto.
Ngosuku olulandelayo, xa befika emlanjeni kwakhona, idonki lakhumbula indlela olwalulula ngayo uhambo kusuku oludlulileyo. “Ukuba ndithe ndawa kwakhona, umthwalo wam uya kuba khaphukhaphu!” wacinga. Encume kancinci, waziyeka wawela emanzini ngabom.
Kanye njengangaphambili, ityuwa yathi shwaka, waza umthwalo wakhe waba lula kwakhona.
"Oku kulula kakhulu!" idonki lacinga, linebhongo ngobukrelekrele balo.
Kodwa umrhwebi wayejongile. Uye wanikina intloko. “Ndiyayibona lento ophezukwayo,” wacinga. "Masibone ukuba uzokuzama kwakhona ngomso."
Ngentsasa elandelayo, ngaphambi kokuba emke edolophini, umrhwebi weza necebo. Endaweni yokuzalisa iingxowa ngetyuwa, wazipakisha ngomqhaphu othambileyo.
Bathi bakufika emlanjeni, idonki, laziva likrelekrele ngakumbi kunakuqala, lazivumela ukuba liwe kwakhona.
Kodwa ngesi sihlandlo, kwakukho into eyahlukileyo. Umqhaphu wabamanzi waza wabanzima kakhulu. Xa idonki liphakama, umthwalo walo ngoku wawuphindaphindeke kabini kunangaphambili!
"Hayibo! Kwenzeke ntoni?" lalila lizama ukuhamba. Imilenze yalo yayingcangcazela phantsi kobunzima.
Umrhwebi wambhambhatha umqolo wedonki waze wancuma. "Ngoku usifundile isifundo, mhlobo wam. Amaqhinga awasoloko esebenza ngendlela obulindele ngayo."
Idonki lalingenayo enye indlela ngaphandle kokuthwala umthwalo onzima ukugoduka. Inyathelo ngenyathelo, lazisola ngokuzama ukukhohlisa. Emva kwaloo mini, wayeka ukuwela emlanjeni ngabom waza wawuthwala ngokunyaniseka umthwalo wakhe.
Something went wrong. Please try again.
Word Finder
Trader
A person who buys and sells things.Sacks
Big bags for carrying things like salt.Dissolved
Melted away in liquid and disappeared.Muttered
Spoke in a low, unclear voice.Grin
A big, happy smile.Proud
Feeling happy about something you did.Plan
An idea about what to do next.Fluffy
Soft, light, and full of air.Soaked
Very wet with lots of water.Regretted
Felt bad about something done before.
Understanding Questions
- What did the donkey carry for the trader?
- How did the donkey feel after the salt dissolved in the river?
- What did the trader do when he noticed the donkey fell into the water on purpose?
- What did the trader put in the sacks instead of salt to teach the donkey a lesson?
- How did the donkey's behavior change after the lesson from the trader?
Reflection Questions
- Why did the donkey's load become lighter when he fell into the river the first time?
- How did the trader teach the donkey a lesson?
- Can you think of a time when trying to take a shortcut or the easy way out made things more difficult instead?
- What does this story teach us about honesty and the importance of doing our work responsibly?
- How can we apply the lesson from this story in our daily lives to be more accountable for our actions?
Fable Quotes
Be honest; repeated tricks will eventually fail.
Clever tricks may lighten today's burden, but they weigh heavily on tomorrow.
Responsibility is embracing the consequences of our actions and making choices that align with integrity.
Just One More Fable
- Deception
- Consequences
The Stag and The Oxen
A hunted stag seeks shelter among oxen in a barn, unnoticed by the barn keeper but exposed by the observant master.
- Contentment
- Envy
The Story of the Unlucky Days
A poor brother outsmarts misfortune, becomes wealthy, and teaches his greedy rich brother a lesson in humility.
- Moderation
- Greed
The Boy and the Filberts
A boy learns to be content by taking fewer nuts, allowing him to easily free his hand from a jar.
- Envy
- Acceptance
The Parasol of Contentment
A street seller buys a parasol with a painted sky, helping him find peace and contentment with his wife.
Read it on paper, too
“The Trader and The Donkey” is one of the 25 illustrated fables in our book, 25 Fables for Fun Quality Time.
Every copy keeps stories free and ad-free for children, parents and teachers everywhere.
Get Your Book