Very often, we think no but say yes because we fear what other people may think of us… Read this story about an old man, his son and their donkey.
An old man and his grandson were living in a small village. They wanted to bring their donkey to the market.
First, both on them were walking and the donkey was not carrying anything. They could hear the neighbours talking: “Look at them, idiots, they have a donkey, feed it every day but don’t even use it…”
Then, the boy was on the donkey and the old man walking. The neighbours were loudly commenting: “Look at them, this boy is not respecting this old man, he lets him walk while he is resting on the donkey…”
So, they switched, the old man was on the donkey and the boy walking. The neighbours still made some comments: “Look at this poor boy walking while this man is resting…”
Then, they decided to both be on the donkey. They could hear the neighbours whispering: “Look at them, cruel and stupid people, they don’t realize this poor donkey is suffering and soon it will die because it gets too tired…
Finally, they did not know what to do and decided to carry the donkey on their backs! The neighbours laughed at them loudly and called them crazy. The donkey was uncomfortable and finally ran away.
The old man said to his grandson: “We learned that when we try to please everyone, we please no one at the end. What do we care what other people think!
And they went back home with this valuable lesson in mind.
You can also watch this story on YouTube.
The fifth day, they stayed at home and the old man asked his son. “Son, what did you learn this week?” and the son replied “What do we care what other people think! Whatever we do, they will always find something to say about it…”
