A man and his son were leading their donkey along a country road. They passed some girls drawing water from a well.
One girl exclaimed, "Look how silly they are! They have a donkey, yet both are walking." Hearing this, the man told his son, "You ride the donkey. You're light, so you won't tire it."
Soon, they met three old men. One said, "Shame! The boy rides while his old father walks." So the man mounted the donkey, and his son walked beside it.
Later, they encountered three women. One cried, "How lazy! That strong man rides while the poor child walks." Confused, they both got on the donkey.
Finally, they met some townspeople who scolded, "How cruel to overload the poor donkey!" Determined to please everyone, they got off, tied the donkey's legs to a pole, and carried it on their shoulders toward town.
On a bridge, the onlookers laughed loudly. Startled by the noise, the donkey struggled, broke free, fell into the water, and drowned.
The man and his son went home empty-handed. The father sighed, "He who tries to please everybody pleases nobody in the end."