The farmer, the son, and the donkey

One day a farmer and his son were on their way to a nearby market town to sell their donkey.

As they walked along beside the donkey, they met some young girls on the road. The girls began to laugh at them. “Don’t you two look silly?”they said. “Both of you are walking, and one of you could be riding.”When the farmer heard this, he agreed. He helped his son get onto the donkey, and they continued on their way.

Soon they passed two men standing by the roadside. “Just look at that!”said one of the two men. That poor old man is walking while his son is riding. The boy ought to be ashamed.”So the son got off the donkey, and his father climbed on and rode.

They had not gone very far when they came to some old women at a crossroad. One woman scolded (责备) the father. “How dare you ride that donkey while that poor child has to walk. He must be exhausted.”So the farmer lifted the boy up beside him, and they both rode the rest of the way to town. When they finally arrived in town, they passed a man who wanted to know if the donkey belonged to them. The farmer replied that it was their donkey. “That poor animal is overworked,” said the man. “The two of you could carry it far better than it can carry you!”

So the farmer and his son got down. But they couldn’t figure out how to carry the donkey. Finally, the father had an idea. From a tree, he cut a thick branch to make a kind of carrying pole (杆). He tied the donkey’s feet to the pole with rope. Then, he and his son each carried one end of the pole with the frightened donkey hanging between them.

By the time they reached the bridge, a noisy crowd stood around watching them. The crowd pointed and laughed loudly. All the noise and laughter frightened the donkey. It began to kick and pull at (用力拉) the ropes. Soon it got loose and fell into the river below. Since it couldn’t swim, the donkey drowned.

The farmer and his son felt very foolish. Slowly they turned and started back home with no donkey and no money.

Moral (寓意): If you try to please everyone, you may end up pleasing no one.

Answer the following questions.

1. Why were the farmer and his son going to the market?

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2. What happened when both the boy and his father got on the donkey?

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 3. How did they carry the donkey?

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4. What happened to the donkey at last?

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【答案】（反白可见）：

1. Because they were going to sell their donkey.

2. Because they were going to sell their donkey.

3. They carried one end of the pole with the donkey hanging between them.

4. The donkey drowned.