One sunny morning, a farmer named Mr. Giles decided he needed a new donkey to help with chores around his farm. So, he trotted off to the market, a place buzzing with chatter and the smell of fresh hay.

After looking at a few, he spotted a donkey that seemed strong and healthy. "I like the look of this one," Mr. Giles told the seller. "But may I take him home for a day, just to see how he gets on?"

"Of course!" said the seller, happy to make a sale.

Mr. Giles led the new donkey back to his farm. He opened the gate to the field where his other donkeys were resting. "Go on in," he said gently, "make some new friends."

Now, in that field, there were two other donkeys. One was a hard-working donkey named Danny, who was always happy to carry loads and help out. The other was a donkey named Dozy, who, well, Dozy loved to do nothing much at all except eat the tastiest bits of grass and find the shadiest spots for a nap.

Mr. Giles watched from the fence to see what the new donkey would do. The new donkey looked around, twitched its ears, and then, clip-clop, clip-clop, it walked straight past hard-working Danny. Where did it go? It went right over to Dozy, who was, at that very moment, trying to reach a juicy apple just out of reach without moving too much. The new donkey nudged Dozy and then settled down beside him, looking perfectly content to do nothing at all.

Mr. Giles chuckled to himself. "Well, well," he thought. "If he chooses Dozy as his best pal, he'll likely be just as lazy and fond of easy living."

Without saying another word, Mr. Giles put a rope on the new donkey and led him straight back to the market.

The seller was surprised. "What's wrong? Didn't he work out?"

"Oh, he's a fine donkey, I'm sure," said Mr. Giles with a smile. "But I saw the company he chose to keep. And I reckon he'd soon be just like the friend he picked. I don't need another Dozy on my farm!"

And so, Mr. Giles went to find a donkey that might prefer the company of hard-working Danny instead.

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