Once upon a time there lived a young man who had a little dog. The young man was very fond of his dog. He would pat its head, and take it on his knee, and talk to it. Then he would give it a little bit of food from his own plate or bowl, which made the donkey envy most.

One day the donkey looked in the window and saw the man and the dog. “Why does he not make a pet of me?” said the donkey. “I work much harder than the dog. The dog only wags its tail, barks and jumps on our master’s knee. It is not fair.”

Then the donkey said to himself, “If I do what the dog does, perhaps our master will make a pet of me.” So the donkey ran into the room. It wagged its tail so hard that it knocked over a jar on the table. Then it tried to jump on its master’s knee. The master thought that the donkey was mad, and he shouted, “Help, help!” His servants came running in with sticks. They beat the donkey until it ran out of the house, and they drove it back out to the field.