Today, we’re going to tell an interesting and thought-provoking story from the classic Aesop’s Fables – The Donkey Who Carried the Salt. This story is about a donkey who suffers a tragedy because he misapplies his experience. It’s not only humorous, but also holds a profound truth, making it perfect for children and adults to read together.
Chapter 1: The Merchant and His Donkey
Once upon a time, there was a merchant who often traveled between two towns for business. To transport his goods, he bought a strong donkey to help carry them. Every time he crossed the river, the donkey had to carry the heavy load across the river, and although it was hard work, it always did its best to accomplish the task.
One day the merchant bought a large shipment of salt to be carried to the other side of the river and sold. The salt was put into bags and piled up as high as a small mountain. When the donkey saw so many goods, he muttered in his heart, “How can I carry so much salt?” So it began to rack its brains for ways to be lazy.
Chapter 2: The Secret of the Salt Bag
As the donkey was carrying the salt bag across the river, an accident happened! As the river was swift, the donkey accidentally slipped and the salt bag on his back fell into the water. When the salt met the water, it dissolved quickly and the bag became much lighter. The donkey immediately felt a lot less burden on his body and was overjoyed!
“Haha, it turns out that just letting the salt bag get a little bit of water makes it a lot easier!” The donkey was secretly pleased that he had found a good way to be lazy.
From then on, every time he carried salt across the river, the donkey would deliberately pretend to fall down and dip the salt bag into the water. Sure enough, each time the salt bag became lighter and the donkey saved a lot of energy. When the merchant checked the goods, he realized that the salt was missing, but he could never find the reason and could only shake his head helplessly and sigh. The donkey, on the other hand, snickered and felt especially clever.
Chapter 3: The Cotton Trap
It wasn’t long before the merchant received a new batch of tasks – delivering cotton. This time, he bought a lot of cotton, and again, he needed the donkey’s help to carry it. Although the goods are still a lot, but the donkey is not worried, because it has already summarized the “lazy trick”: as long as the bag is wet, it will become lighter!
So, when the donkey was carrying the cotton across the river, it did the same thing again, walking to the middle of the river and deliberately tilted its body a little, so that the cotton bag was immersed in the water. This time, however, things were quite different!
Instead of dissolving like salt, the cotton absorbed the water and became heavier and heavier. The donkey felt the burden on its back like a huge mountain pressing down on it, weighing it down so much that it could barely breathe. Before it could react, a rapid current rushed in and swept the donkey, along with the cotton, into the river. In the end, the poor donkey was drowned by the river because it could not bear the weight.
Chapter 4: The Inspiration of the Story
This story tells us an important lesson: not everything becomes lighter when it is soaked in water! Salt can be dissolved in water, so it becomes lighter; but cotton absorbs water and becomes heavier instead. The silly donkey paid with his life because he did not understand this simple scientific principle and blindly applied his past experience.
We also encounter similar situations in our lives. Sometimes we are used to solving problems in the same way as before, but if we don’t analyze the specific situation, it may backfire. Like a donkey, we think that the “old way” always works, but we ignore the differences between different things.
—Ignore the differences between different things.
Message to Children
Dear children, through this story, we can learn the following points. 1:
- Analyze a problem in its own way
Every problem has its own characteristics, and you can’t rely on past experiences. For example, although salt and cotton are both goods, they are completely different in nature and should be handled differently. - Don’t be a smart ass
In order to be lazy, the donkey intentionally wet the salt bag, which seems to take advantage of the situation, but is actually cheating others. This kind of behavior is not only dishonest, but can also lead to serious consequences. - It’s important to learn science
If the donkey had known that salt dissolves in water and cotton absorbs water and becomes heavy, it would not have made the wrong decision. So, learning more about science can help us avoid similar mistakes.
I hope you like this story and learn a lesson from it. Remember, only by observing carefully and thinking hard can we cope better with all kinds of challenges in life!
