English Original
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."
中文翻译
从前，有一个小贩，他卖各种各样的货物。为了运送货物，他有一头驴。每天早晨，小贩给驴装上货物，他们从一个村子走到另一个村子。小贩在前面欢快地吹着口哨，而可怜的驴则在重负下呻吟。
一天早晨，驴驮着沉重的盐袋。路上，他又热又累，急忙跑到小溪边喝水。河岸很滑，他掉进了水里。令他惊讶的是，当他爬上岸时，背上的担子感觉轻了很多！盐溶解了，但驴并不知道。他以为自己发现了一个减轻负担的魔法。
那天晚上，他自豪地把自己的秘密告诉了马厩里的猫。“我再也不用驮重东西了！”他宣布。
第二天，小贩给驴装上了几捆布。驴想起了他的“发现”，故意滑进了同一条小溪。但这一次，布吸了水，变得重多了！可怜的驴挣扎着，差点淹死，最后小贩救了他。
那天晚上，驴又伤心又酸痛，还感冒了。那只老灰猫看着他，摇摇头，叹了口气：“可怜的老驴。”