A Man, His Son, and a Donkey

Once there was a man, his wife, and his young son. They were happy, but they needed more money.
“Sell the donkey,” said the man’s wife. So the man agreed to sell the donkey.
The man and his son started to walk to town. Soon they met a friend. The friend said, “Are you crazy? Why are you walking? One of you should ride the donkey.”
So the boy climbed up on the donkey’s back.
Soon they met an old man. The old man said, “Are you crazy? Your son is riding, but you are walking. You should ride the donkey.”
The boy climbed off. The man climbed on.
Soon they met an old woman. The old woman said, “Are you crazy? You are riding, but your son is walking. You should both ride the donkey.
So the boy climbed back on.

Soon they met a farmer. The farmer said, “Are you crazy? Both of you are riding the donkey. The donkey won’t make it to town. You should carry the donkey to town.”
So the man and his son tied the donkey to a pole. They carried the donkey into town. The towns people laughed and laughed. The noise frightened the donkey. He kicked himself off the pole and ran away.

“What are you going to tell mother?” the son asked.
“Well, son,” the man said. “I agreed to sell the donkey to please your mother. You rode the donkey to please my friend. I rode the donkey to please the old man. We both rode the donkey to please the old woman. We even carried the donkey to please the farmer!”
The man sighed. Then he said, “This is what I’m going to tell your mother. You can’t please everybody. In the end, you please nobody...not even yourself.”