The Story of a Stupid Donkey

Once upon a time, all the animals were living happily in a forest. According to tradition, the lion was the king of the forest and the rest of the animals were his subjects. There was no shortage of food, thanks to the fruitful trees, fragrant flowers, swaying green trees, waterfalls, rivers, and pleasant atmosphere, this forest was no less than a paradise-like valley.

 The Story of a Stupid Donkey

Yes! All the animals were present in the forest, but the donkeys, which are seen step by step in human society, were not present in all the forests. What was even more surprising was that the animals of the forest had never seen a donkey, they had no idea that there were creatures in the world apart from the animals in their small forest.

One day it happened that a donkey strayed from the path and came wandering towards this forest. When the donkey saw such a beautiful forest, his joy was endless and why would he not be happy, everything he needed was available here and above all, there was freedom. When the forest animals saw a new creature wandering in the forest, they all gathered around him and started chatting. Finally, it was decided to present him in the court of the king of the jungle, the lion.

Finally, the case was heard in the lion's court and the responsibility of uncovering the secret of this new creature was entrusted to the special adviser, the fox. The fox began to think in the light of the available information and his own experiences.

"Isn't this human?" Thinking, the fox asked himself.

He had heard from his elders that man is a very intelligent creature and lives somewhere outside the boundaries of the forest.

As the fox thought, his suspicion became stronger that this creature must be a human being.

"Are you human?" The fox asked the donkey in a mixed state of belief and uncertainty.

Seeing all the animals, including the lion, attracted to him, the donkey assessed the situation and seemed to hide the fury that was growing inside him by clearing his throat.

"Yes, I am only human and thus I came towards your forest in ignorance. I am sure you will uphold your traditions of hospitality."

Hearing the story of the donkey, everyone including the lion started looking at him with surprise and joy. After all, he had seen the human being, who according to him was a very intelligent creature.

What happened next, the donkey was placed on the head and the lion was given a chair in the court. A general celebration was announced and the donkey was given freedom to roam anywhere.

Now the donkey used to enjoy himself carelessly, the lion would consult him in important matters in the forest, all the animals would sing about his intelligence, take his advice, he would be given the status of VIP guest in the events, therefore, the protocol of the donkey is someone. He was not less than a lion.

Gradually the donkey became so popular that the animals of the forest used to approach the donkey to settle their disputes, settle domestic matters, and make speeches, gain knowledge related to life, philosophy, literature, science and other subjects. The donkey was living happily.

One day, by chance, a man came to this forest. According to the tradition, the forest animals also caught him and took him to the king's court. Now, whenever a man was asked about him, he would reply that I am a man, while no one, including the lion, was ready to believe him because all the animals believed the donkey to be a man.

Finally, it was decided that this false creature should be thrown out of the forest after severe punishment so that it would not try to sneak near the forest again.

Similarly, one of our social tragedies is that we have never seen a great man in life. We never sit in the company of great people. We have never tried to know greatness and magnanimity, so in such a society, many donkeys like me are walking around as donkeys, beggars, writers, intellectuals, analysts, mentors and motivational speakers. And when a big man and a capable person tries to do some positive reform work in our society, we raise heaps of objections.

Our mental level is not ready to accept anything positive because we are used to the donkeys. In imitating donkeys, we become so blind that our eyes become incapable of recognizing humans. And then these big people get heartbroken and leave our society in its state.

We as a debate nation must acquire at least enough knowledge and teach our children to make it easy to understand the difference between donkeys and humans. I pray that Allah may grant us all the ability to recognize donkeys and respect humans. Amen.