372 OUR HUMBLE HELPERS 



head, and I don't know what all; and, as a crowning 

 slander to the animal, the dunce of his class at school 

 is made to wear a cap with donkey's ears. Never 

 has calumny been more flagrant. The donkey a 

 dunce? By no means! Is it not the donkey that, 

 with a prudence worthy of imitation, refuses to 

 drink from unknown springs? Does it not, when 

 lost in the crowd at market, know how to find its 

 master almost as easily as the dog, and does it not 

 begin to bray with joy at sight of him? But there 

 is something better than this to prove its intelli- 

 gence. Eecall to mind the wagoner's long team of 

 horses on the highway. There are four, six, eight of 

 them, sturdily tugging at the enormous load. Be- 

 tween the two shafts, the most arduous position of 

 all, is the massive shaft-horse, while at the head of 

 the team proudly marches a donkey, harnessed very 

 lightly. What is this little creature doing at the 

 head of those robust companions? First, it pulls 

 with vigor, so far as its strength will admit; and, 

 secondly, it has a still more important function to 

 fill. Its part is to guide the equipage and keep it in 

 the middle of the road, to avoid ruts, get around dif- 

 ficult places, and, in general, pick the way. While 

 the heavy horses work only with their shoulders to 

 draw the load, the donkey, to lead the way, works at 

 the same time with its head. This post of honor, 

 this position as leader of the file would it be as- 

 signed to the ass if the animal were not recognized 

 as the most intelligent of the team? 



"I should like to show you also the donkey trav- 



