Reading time: 4 minutes

Ascolta subito la favola con morale di Jean de La Fontaine “I ladri e l’asino”

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Summary

Hello everyone, boys and girls and adults from all over the world! How are you?

This evening I will read you a fairy tale by Jean de La Fontaine."The thieves and the donkey“, as always declares a great teaching. However, I always await your comments on the matter, tell me if you have retained anything from what I read and if you found what I read useful.

Let's read together

Two thieves had stolen a nice donkey from a nearby town. Satisfied with the loot, they walked for a while in the mountains and, having reached a safe place, stopped to rest.
“What a beautiful donkey we stole!”, said the first thief, who was slim and tall as a lamppost, satisfied.
“It was a really good shot!”, confirmed the second thief, who, unlike his accomplice, was short and round like a wine barrel.

“My wife will be happy when I bring him home,” continued the slim thief.
"In your house? That little donkey is mine and my children will like it very much,” replied the round one.
(If this surprises you, yes: even thieves have wives and sometimes children.Furthermore, our two thieves were simple criminals who only stole a few things to eat for their families. It would have been better to look for an honest job, but that's another story!).

Soon the conversation between the two turned into a big fight. The pitch of their voices got higher and higher, until they started screaming and shouting like crazy.Had they perhaps forgotten that the profession of a thief requires silence and prudence?

There they are, the slim and round one shouting at the top of their lungs in the mountains.
“The donkey is mine!” “No, I'll keep it!” "I 'll take it!" "No me!"
The argument went more or less like this and in the meantime the poor donkey was there, in the midst of the noise, confused and hungry.
All he wanted was to get back to his little stable as soon as possible.

But suddenly something unexpected happened. A young shepherd, who often passed through the mountains with his goats, heard all that noise. Attracted by the thieves' cries, he approached the place where the two had stopped to argue. When he saw them so busy shouting, and noticed that a beautiful donkey was all alone aside, he didn't think twice: he approached slowly and took the donkey away with him.

Imagine the surprise of the slim and round man when they looked up and no longer saw their loot!
Because of their complaints, no one could now take the donkey home.

And what happened to the donkey?

If you want to know…the donkey was very lucky.The shepherd was a good and generous young man, who treated all his animals with patience and love. From that day on, the donkey had a stable twice the size of the previous one, good food and good company (of goats).

Moral of the story The Thieves and the Donkey

The fable teaches that arguing with shouts and jeers leads to nothing, but rather, often, neither of you gains by getting angry with your friends. It's better to speak calmly and clarify the situation, if we don't want someone else to take advantage of it!

So what do you think?

I wish you a peaceful night, in the company of our little angel Eugene to populate your dreams.

Goodnight from your Francesca ♥