A hardworking shopkeeper drove his donkey to the market to buy salt. On their way home, they had to cross a stream. The donkey was very tired, and he slipped on a rock and fell into the water.

To the donkey’s surprise, his load was now much lighter¹. The water had washed away almost all of the salt. The shopkeeper took the donkey back to the market and bought even more salt than before. This time when they reached the stream, the donkey fell into the water on purpose.

The shopkeeper saw through the donkey’s trick. He returned to the market and bought sponges² instead of salt.

When they reached the stream, the donkey used his trick again and fell into the water. But this time the trick was on him. The sponges became heavy with water and the weight of his load greatly increased.

“I hope you’ve learned your lesson,” the shopkeeper said to the donkey. “If you use a trick to avoid work, you will just end up with more work in the end.”