A Donkey Story

A Donkey Story

One day a farmer's donkey fell into an
abandoned well. The animal cried piteously for
hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to
do. Finally, he decided the animal was old and
the well needed to be covered up anyway; so it
just wasn't worth it to him to try to retrieve
the donkey.

He invited all his neighbors to come over and
help him. They each grabbed a shovel and began
to shovel dirt into the well. Realizing what
was happening, the donkey at first cried and
wailed horribly.

Then, a few shovels later, he quieted down
completely. The farmer peered down into the
well, and was astounded by what he saw. With
every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the
donkey was doing something amazing. He would
shake it off and take a step up on the new
layer of dirt.

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel
dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it
off and take a step up. Pretty soon, the
donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and
trotted off, to the shock and astonishment of
all the neighbors!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds
of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well
is to not let it bury you, but to shake it off
and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a
stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest
wells just by not stopping, never giving up!

Shake it off and take a step up!