Loom and Spindle

A donkey fell into a well. The animal brayed desperately as the farmer pondered what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be filled in anyway. It wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited his neighbors to come help. They grabbed shovels and began to throw dirt into the well. At first the donkey cried piteously. Then to everyone's amazement, he calmed down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer looked down the well. He was astonished to see that as each shovelful hit its back, the donkey would shake it off and take a step up. The neighbors continued to shovel dirt into the well, and the donkey rose higher and higher. Soon it was able to step out of the well and trot off. Moral of the story: Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick is to shake it off and take a step up.