A donkey had an easy life alongside the horses in the stable. She got fed and fussed and only had to give rides to the youngest of children. She was placid and good natured, but one day she heard the braying of other donkeys coming from neighbouring fields and she did not like it.

“I wish they’d stop that awful noise,” she complained. “It gives the rest of us a bad name.”
“They only do it because they’re hungry, or neglected,” the horses explained.
“Well, I don’t make that noise when I get hungry. It’s simply not necessary,” the donkey replied.
“You don’t want for food or attention, do you? You are privileged by comparison.”
“Privileged? What? No no no,” the donkey protested. “If I’m privileged, what are you?”

And then to drown out their answer she too began to bray.

© Richard Parkin, 2025

Further reading: Misadventures in the Land of Fables #62