THE ASS 369 



ing, *I told you I could n't carry such a heavy load.' 

 Any one but a boor would hasten to lighten the load, 

 instead of unmercifully beating the animal, and the 

 donkey would get up as soon as the weight became 

 suited to its strength. ' ' 



"They won't make the donkey any stronger by 

 beating it," was Jules 's comment. 



"And, what is more, they will turn a docile animal 

 into an obstinate, ill-tempered one. In its early 

 youth, before it knows the hardness of life, the don- 

 key is gay, playful, full of pretty tricks; but with 

 the sad experience of age, with crushing fatigue and 

 ill-treatment, it becomes indocile, slow, obstinate, 

 vindictive. Is not that, however, our fault? How 

 many injuries has not the unfortunate beast to 

 avenge, and what a host of good qualities must it 

 not have to remain in the end as we find it? If the 

 donkey harbored ill-will for blows received, its mas- 

 ter would become an object of hatred and it would be 

 constantly biting and kicking him. On the contrary, 

 the animal becomes attached to him, scents him from 

 a distance, distinguishes him from all other men, and 

 can if necessary find him amid all the confusion of a 

 fair or market. 



"With passable food and, above all, with good 

 usage, the ass becomes the most submissive, faithful, 

 and affectionate of companions. Let it be saddled 

 or harnessed, loaded with pack-saddle, panniers, 

 farm tools, or what not, it shirks no labor. If there 

 is any fodder for it, it eats ; if not, it crops the this- 

 tles by the side of the road; and if there are no this- 



