The Farmer's Donkey: A Fable for Our Time br br One day a farmer´s donkey fell down into a well. br The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. br Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn´t worth it to retrieve the donkey br He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him br They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well br At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly br Then, to everyone´s amazement, he quieted down br A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw br With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing br He would shake it off and take a step up br As the farmer´s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.