Once, there lived a peddler who sold all sorts of goods. To carry his wares, he had a donkey. Every morning, the peddler loaded the donkey, and they walked from village to village. The peddler whistled merrily ahead, while the poor donkey groaned under the heavy load.
One morning, the donkey was loaded with heavy sacks of salt. On the way, feeling hot and tired, he hurried to a stream for a drink. The bank was slippery, and he fell into the water. To his surprise, when he climbed out, his load felt much lighter! The salt had dissolved, but the donkey didn't know that. He thought he had discovered a magic trick to lighten his burdens.
That night, he proudly told the stable cat his secret. "No more heavy loads for me!" he declared.
The next day, the peddler loaded the donkey with bales of cloth. Remembering his "discovery," the donkey deliberately slipped into the same stream. But this time, the cloth soaked up water and became much heavier! The poor donkey struggled and nearly drowned before the peddler rescued him.
That night, the donkey was sad, sore, and had caught a cold. The old grey cat looked at him, shook her head, and sighed, "Poor old donkey."