THE DONKEY. 



WHILE the dog has risen vastly in the scale since 

 Scriptural times as the friend and companion 

 of man, the donkey has as distinctly descended. There is 

 no reason for believing that this is the fault of the donkey, 

 but lies rather in the want of appreciation on the part 

 of man. The donkey is, indeed, to no small extent the 

 victim of appearances, and it can hardly be doubted that 

 the length of his ears has told terribly against him. This is 

 not because there is anything inherently objectionable in 

 a donkey's ears. They match admirably with his general 

 appearance, and their constant movement evinces the 

 animal's intelligent interest in what is g'oing on around it. 

 Unfortunately for the donkey, however, men are accustomed 

 to see in all other creatures ears bearing a smaller pro- 

 portion to the general bulk than they do in the case of 

 a donkey, and, therefore, rashly and foolishly, jump at the 

 conclusion that the donkey's ears are excessive. This being 

 once established, it naturally follows that man should 

 attribute various bad qualities to the donkey, simply because 

 his ears are large ; but he is specially credited with stupidity 

 and obstinacy. We do not hesitate to say that the 

 stupidity is very much greater on the part of man, who 

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