An Inspirational Donkey Story

One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a 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; it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the  donkey. He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They all grabbed a  shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.

At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to  everyone’s amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally  looked down the well, and was astonished at 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. As the farmer’s neighbours continued to  shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon,  everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and  trotted off!

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is  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  keep going.