The Jackal and the Donkey
English
Once upon a time, a man and his wife were traveling down a road, with a donkey carrying their belongings. The wife was walking on foot while the husband rode comfortably on the donkey's back. When the jackal spotted this scene, he trotted over with a sly smile:
"Good morning to you both! What a fine day for traveling!"
They greeted him back warmly. Then the jackal shook his head with exaggerated concern:
"But my friend — does it not pain you to see your poor wife trudging along on foot while you sit up there in comfort? Have you no shame?"
The words stung the man, and he climbed down from the donkey and helped his wife up instead.
An hour later, the jackal reappeared and said cheerfully:
"Why not ride together? The donkey is strong — he can carry you both easily!"
So the man climbed up behind his wife. But when the jackal saw them both on the donkey's back, he put on a face of deep sorrow:
"Oh you poor creature! Look how they crush you under their weight! Have they no pity for you?"
Embarrassed, both the man and his wife climbed down and walked alongside the donkey, leading him by the rope. The jackal smiled quietly to himself and said:
"Well then — that will do for now! Good day to you!"
And off he went.
When they reached the edge of the village, the jackal appeared one final time and said with great seriousness:
"Surely it would only be fair if you carried the donkey for once, instead of always making him carry you!"
The villagers burst out laughing as they watched the man and his wife struggle to lift the donkey onto their shoulders.
Then the jackal crept close to the donkey and whispered in his ear:
"Now — run!"
The donkey startled and bolted away through the trees, disappearing into the countryside and leaving the man and his wife standing helplessly in the middle of the road.
The man trudged home carrying the load on his own back, never quite understanding how he had fallen for the trick.
As for the jackal, he trotted back into the forest laughing to himself and said:
"A clever word achieves what no sword ever could."
Moral: He who listens to everyone ends up losing his donkey.
Dictated in 1914 by El-Hajj Djilali, Ntifa.
Adapted from Émile Laoust (1949) · Retold by Morocco Hykayat