The Ass and the load of Salt – Aesop’s Fables
Those who love Aesop’s Fables might know the story of the “The Ass and the load of Salt“. It is the story of an ass which used to trick its master by wasting his goods until the master teaches him a lesson
Story
A salt merchant used to live a few kilometres from the sea. He used to take his donkey to the seashore and fill two bags of salt. Then they would return back to the village and sell the salt in the market.
The donkey was happy when he was on his way to the sea shore. It was a nice walk where they get to cross a lovely steam and carry no weight. However on the way back, he did not like the weight of the salt on his back.
One day, the donkey and his master were returning back from the sea shore with two heavy loads of salt. While crossing the stream, by accident, the donkey slipped and fell into the water.
By the time the donkey was able to get back on its feet, half the salt had dissolved into the water. The merchant cursed his luck and they headed back to the village. The donkey on the other hand was very happy. The weight on its back had reduced so much.
The next day, the donkey and his master were returning back from the sea shore with two heavy loads of salt. While crossing the stream, the donkey acted like he slipped and again fell into the water.
By the time the donkey was able to get back on its feet, half the salt had dissolved into the water. The merchant was very unhappy. He cursed his luck and they headed back to the village. The donkey was very happy. He knew how to reduce the weight on his back and he could do this every day.
The third day, the donkey and his master were returning back from the sea shore with two heavy loads of salt. While crossing the stream, the donkey once again acted like he had an accident and fell into the water.
The master realized what was happening. He dumped the entire salt into the water and took the donkey back to the sea shore. He filled the bags with sponges and took the donkey to the stream. The donkey foolishly fell into the water and the sponges became very heavy with all the water.
He now had to carry almost twice the weight of the salt all the way up to the village. However he had learnt a painful lesson.
Moral of the story:
The moral of the story “The Ass and the load of salt” is “The same measures will not suit all circumstances.”.
Other stories which you can read
| The Dog and the Hides |
| The Cock, The Dog and the Fox |
| The Farmer and the Snake |
| The Farmer and the Stork |
| The Cat and the Birds |
Questions on “The Ass and the load of Salt“
- Who are the main characters of the story?
- Explain why was the donkey happy on his way to the sea shore?
- What happened when the donkey fell into the water the first time?
- Explain the end of the story?
- What is the moral of the story?
Answers:
- The main characters of the story are a donkey and his owner.
- The donkey was happy when he was on his way to the sea shore. It was a nice walk where they get to cross a lovely steam and carry no weight. However on the way back, he did not like the weight of the salt on his back.
- One day, the donkey and his master were returning back from the sea shore with two heavy loads of salt. While crossing the stream, by accident, the donkey slipped and fell into the water. By the time the donkey was able to get back on its feet, half the salt had dissolved into the water. The merchant cursed his luck and they headed back to the village. The donkey on the other hand was very happy. The weight on its back had reduced so much.
- The master realized what was happening. He dumped the entire salt into the water and took the donkey back to the sea shore. He filled the bags with sponges and took the donkey to the stream. The donkey foolishly fell into the water and the sponges became very heavy with all the water. He now had to carry almost twice the weight of the salt all the way up to the village. However he had learnt a painful lesson.
- The moral of the Aesop’s Fable is that “The same measures will not suit all circumstances.”
The Ass and the load of Salt – PDF
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