They went along amid the laughter of all who met them till they came to Market Bridge, when the Donkey, getting one of his feet loose, kicked out and caused the Boy to drop his end of the pole. They thought and they thought, till at last they cut down a pole, tied the donkey’s feet to it, and raised the pole and the donkey to their shoulders. The Man and Boy got off and tried to think what to do. The men said: “Aren’t you ashamed of yourself for overloading that poor donkey with you and your hulking son?” The Man stopped and asked what they were scoffing at. By this time they had come to the town, and the passers-by began to jeer and point at them. Well, the Man didn’t know what to do, but at last he took his Boy up before him on the Donkey. So the Man ordered his Boy to get off, and got on himself.īut they hadn’t gone far when they passed two women, one of whom said to the other: “Shame on that lazy lout to let his poor little son trudge along.” But soon they passed a group of men, one of whom said: “See that lazy youngster he lets his father walk while he rides.” So the Man put the Boy on the Donkey and they went on their way. Let me summarise the fable, first before I draw on my conclusions on the business lessons available from this one fable.Ī Man and his son were once going with their Donkey to market.Īs they were walking along by its side, a countryman passed them and said: “You fools, what is a Donkey for but to ride upon?” The fable of the Man, the Boy and the Donkey has several lessons for us in business. Each has its own moral lesson and I find the morals applicable to business as much as they are to the trials and tribulations of personal life.

He instructed, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God.” ( 2 Timothy 2:15).How often as a leader have you found yourself in the position where you have regretted a decision you have made, because the benchmark you created from the decision became a millstone around your neck? When your strategic thinking went awry? The fable of The Man the Boy and the DonkeyĪesop, a Greek slave, wrote many fables and is accredited with thousands. Paul wrote, “Therefore, we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him” (2 Corinthians 5:9). We, as God’s people, need to get clear in our minds, who it is that we wish to please. The point of which is that it is not always possible to please everyone.

The father thought, “I think we’re pleasing everyone now.” But, as they crossed the bridge they stumbled the donkey rolled into the river below, and drowned. He took a long pole and tied the donkey’s feet to it, and father and son began to carry the donkey. It is too much for so small an animal to carry so heavy a load.” Wanting to please everyone the father had a plan. Next, they met two women who criticized saying, “Did you ever see so lazy a man? He rides and takes his ease, while his son walks.” The man, wanting to please everyone, pulled his son up on the donkey with him.įinally, They passed some men who, seeing them both ride, said, “You ought to be ashamed of yourself for being so cruel to that donkey. He rides on the donkey while his poor father walks.” The father, not wanting to displease, exchanged places with the boy. Soon, they met another who said, “See the lazy boy. What is a donkey good for, if not to ride upon?” The man, wanting to please the farmer, put his son upon the donkey and away they went. He said, “You are very foolish to walk to town and lead the donkey behind you.

They had not gone far before they met a farmer. Once upon a time there was a man, a boy (the man’s son), and a donkey.

The boy that time donkey