Introducing a Famous and Inspiring Story: The Lazy Donkey and the Wise Merchant
A poor merchant in a village lived with his donkey. The merchant's house was located not far from the market. Every day, he'd load sacks of goods onto the donkey's back and travel to the market. The merchant was a kind and compassionate person who took good care of his donkey. The donkey, in turn, loved his master. However, the donkey had a problem; he was incredibly lazy. He disliked work and preferred only eating and resting. One day, the merchant learned that there was a high demand for salt in the market. That day, he decided to sell salt. As the market day arrived, the merchant loaded four sacks of salt onto the donkey and prepared him for the journey. Knowing the donkey's laziness, the merchant nudged him a couple of times, and the donkey started walking. The sacks of salt were rather heavy, causing the donkey's legs to tremble, and he struggled to walk. The merchant, somehow, managed to push the donkey along until halfway to the market.
A river lay between the merchant's house and the market, which had to be crossed using a bridge. As the donkey stepped onto the bridge to cross the river, a little further along, his foot slipped, and he fell into the river. Seeing the donkey fall into the river, the merchant panicked and quickly jumped in to rescue him. The merchant somehow pulled his donkey out of the river. When the donkey emerged, he noticed that the sacks of salt on his back were lighter. All the salt had dissolved in the water, and the merchant had to return home from the halfway point. This resulted in significant losses for the merchant, but the lazy donkey devised a way to avoid the journey to the market. The next day, when they reached the bridge, the donkey deliberately fell into the river, causing all the salt to dissolve. The merchant again had to return home from the halfway point. The donkey started doing this every day. This caused considerable losses for the poor merchant, but gradually, the merchant understood the donkey's strategy.
One day, the merchant thought, "Why not load the donkey with something whose weight doubles when it falls in the water?" With this idea in mind, the merchant tied sacks filled with cotton wool onto the donkey's back and headed towards the market. As they reached the bridge, the donkey, as usual, fell into the river. However, today, the load didn't decrease; instead, its weight increased. The donkey didn't understand why. This continued for two or three days. The merchant kept tying cotton-filled sacks onto the donkey, and every time it fell, the weight doubled. Eventually, the donkey gave up. The donkey had learned its lesson. On the fourth day, when the merchant and the donkey set out for the market, the donkey quietly crossed the bridge. From that day on, the donkey never showed laziness in its work, and the merchant gradually recovered all his losses.
The Moral of the Story: Never be lazy in fulfilling your duties. Just as the merchant, with understanding and insight, can easily handle any task.
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