The Stupid Donkey: A Short Moral Story

Are donkeys dumb? No, they are not but in this story, Danny the donkey is dumber than the rest of his herd. The herd was owned by a merchant who is hired for carrying loads. One day he found out how to reduce the weight but his plan backfired the very next day. What was his plan? What happened that day? How was Danny dumb? Read this story to learn more.

Danny the Stupid Donkey

Once upon a time, there was a farmer who had donkeys on his farm. He was hired by people to carry their loads. He used to stack the loads on the donkeys and carried them to the desired destination.

Danny was the stupidest among the herd. He used to get knocked down due to his stupidity and fall. In fact, the other donkeys were so scared that careless Danny would knock them down, they made way for him to pass without any trouble. Danny was unable to judge the situation properly and fell into trouble.

Danny, the stupid donkey

The Salt Sacks and Danny

One day, his master took a consignment of salt sacs to be carried and reached the market early in the morning. All the donkeys had three sacks on their saddles. The sacks had salt in them. Danny and the other donkeys were following their master. As usual, Danny stepped on a loose rock on a cobblestone road and slipped. The other donkeys watched him roll down by the roadside and fall into the river.

They all laughed at him so hard. Danny was unable to stand up at first. After a few minutes, he could easily stand on his feet. He found that the salt had been melted by the river water. An idea struck in his dumb mind.

The Laundry and Danny

Danny thought the river could easily melt his weight away. He decided to apply this idea so that no one in the herd would call him stupid anymore.

Danny planned to prove himself smart

The next day, another consignment came. Every donkey was given two sacks to carry. Danny was waiting to come closer to the river. When he did, he pretended to slip on a rock and fell into the river.

To his surprise, the sacks become ten times heavier this time. It was laundry. Cotton fabrics got soaked in water and became ten times heavier. Danny was unable to lift himself from the river and drowned.

The donkeys started laughing at him. His master saw this and came running to rescue his donkey. Eventually, Danny was saved from drowning. He learnt his lesson.

Moral of the Story

The moral of this story is that the same idea does not work all the time. One has to judge a situation before implementing a plan. It also suggests that smartness comes from the presence of mind and wisdom. Danny was a dumb donkey who thought the same idea will work all the time. He did not consider what was in the sacks and was about to die because of his stupidity.

Another moral of this story is that there are no shortcuts to success. You have to work hard to achieve something that lasts longer.

Tips for Parents

This is a good story for young learners. Read it and share the Stupid Donkey story’s lesson with students. Make them understand the context of the story and ask simple questions.

Make Stupid Donkey notes for kids and help them develop their comprehension skills. They will learn how to find the answers from this story. Explain the moral lesson and encourage the children to read more such stories.