THE FOOLISH DONKEY

1. Introduction:
- Introduce myself: I am Nguyễn Quang Hưng
- Story introduction:
+ Characters : The salt merchant, the foolish donkey, and the merchant’s wife
+ Background:
- It is an African tale
- Happened in the olden days, when merchants used to travel from
village to village or town to town.
- For this, they used to rely on donkeys or bullock carts to transport
their merchandise.
2. Plot details:
2.1. Opening:
- Long time ago, a salt merchant sold salt in neighbouring villages to make
his livelihood.
- Has a lazy donkey who hates the same routine and boring work.
2.2. Body:
- One day, the merchant set off on a routine travel + the donkey carry a bag of salts
→ came to a river → the donkey slipped into river → all the salt bags dissolve
into water
=> The bags on the back of the donkey were emptied. → The donkey understood
that it was water that made the bag light. >< The merchant was sad because he lost
all of the salt + came back home with disappointment
- Next day:
+ Travel the same journey as yesterday → The donkey got a bright idea
to get rid of the burden on its back. → pretend to fall into the river →
The merchant was surprise
=> He lost all the salt due to the donkey falling into the water. → He returned home
→ He came to an understanding that the donkey must have been doing this
wantedly → He wanted to teach the donkey a lesson.
+ Another next day:
- The merchant loaded the donkey with bags of cotton → As soon as
the bags were tied to its back, the donkey felt them very light. → The
donkey walked along with the merchant happily → The donkey fell
into the river purposely when it reached to the river → The bags on
the donkey’s back are weighing like never before. → The donkey
could not understand why the bags on his back were weighing like a
mountain.
2.3. Ending:
 + The donkey had nothing to do but shut its mouth, bear the weight and walk
silently along with the merchant.
+ With this accident => The donkey never did such foolish acts once again and
listened to its master with care.
3. Moral lesson
+ You should remember not to be lazy. Do your work though it may be routine.
+ You should never skip your duties. It will cause a loss to your growth
only.
+ Luck won’t favor always.