There was a man named Juḥā. He was on his way to the market, and with him was a basket filled with fruits and vegetables. He was carrying the basket on the donkey’s back. In the middle of the road, the donkey stopped suddenly. Juḥā tried with all his might to push the donkey so that he might move, but the donkey refused completely to move even one step forward. Juḥā felt anger, so he took a small stick with which he would strike the donkey to make him move.
Juḥā struck the donkey with small blows until he pushed him to movement, but the donkey also did not move one step. So people began to gather around Juḥā and the donkey. Many men, women, and children. One of them asked Juḥā: “Why do you beat this poor creature?” Another shouted in Juḥā’s face: “Stop beating the donkey immediately.” A third man said to Juḥā: “You are a harsh man, to the utmost.”
Juḥā looked at his donkey in anger and said: “If I had known you have a donkey, with all this number, I would not have beaten you. I have now known that your family is large and their voices are also elevated to the utmost.” Everyone felt astonishment and looked at the donkey. They decided to go away. No one remained around Juḥā and the donkey. Everyone went and left Juḥā dealing with the donkey in the way that suited him.
The Lesson from the Story:
- Sometimes circumstances force us to do things we do not wish to perform.
- Sometimes people may interfere out of ignorance.
- Juḥā always knows what the donkey wants and knows how to behave with him.
- Violence is of no benefit.
- Cleverness in speech and intelligence in dialogue always win you the movement.
Juḥā and the donkey are stories from Arab and international folklore. The whole world knows them, and they always discuss people’s behaviors and their ways of dealing with various difficulties and stops, which Juḥā deals with with a kind of humor and lightness of spirit.
Juḥā and the donkey stories are suitable for all ages and can be used to teach children how to deal. Follow us to get to know new stories of Juḥā and the donkey, and how Juḥā behaves in situations he is placed in and people interfere in.
Translated from the story: The Fables of Donkey