The Man, The Boy and The Donkey

Let me tell you a story I heard as a child.

An old man, his young grandson and their donkey set off on a long journey.  The old man was riding the donkey while the boy walked beside them. As they passed through a town, the townspeople took notice of them and many were offended.  They demanded to know why a grown man would force such a small child to walk while he rode.  The man and the boy thought about it, realized they were right and so switched places.

Soon they reached another town and again people took notice and were angry.  They demanded to know why a healthy young boy would ride a donkey and force an old man to walk.  The man and his grandson thought about what they said, realized they were right and decided to both walk.

Again they came to another town and again the people took notice and now scoffed at them.  They demanded to know why the man and the boy were walking when they had a perfectly good donkey to ride.  The man and the boy realized they were right and decided to both ride the donkey.

Again they reached another town and again the townspeople were unhappy with them.  They demanded to know how the man and the boy could be so cruel as to overburden such a poor donkey.  The man and the boy felt horrible for what they had done and decided to make up for it by carrying the donkey.

While crossing a bridge, the two lost their grip on the donkey.  The donkey fell into the river and drowned.

Moral of the story:  If you try to please everyone, you'll eventually lose your ass.