On a long, winding road, under a very warm sun, walked a donkey and a mule. Their master was taking them to the market, and both animals were loaded with heavy sacks.

The donkey, whose name was Danny, was carrying a very heavy pile of sacks. The mule, Molly, also had a big load, but Danny's seemed just a tiny bit heavier, or maybe Danny was just a bit more tired that day. He huffed and he puffed with every step. His legs felt wobbly, and sweat dripped down his nose.

"Oh, Molly, my friend," he panted, his voice a little shaky, "this load is so heavy! My back is aching, and my knees are knocking. Could you please, please take just a little bit for me? Even one small sack would help so much."

Molly the mule, who was walking a little ahead, flicked her ears but didn't slow down. "Hmmph," she snorted, not unkindly, but not very helpfully either. "We each have our own load to carry, Danny. If I take some of yours, my load will be too heavy. You just need to try a bit harder. Keep going!"

Danny sighed. He tried his best, he really did. He put one foot in front of the other, slower and slower. But his legs just couldn't go any further. With a big, sad sigh, Danny stumbled and then, plop! He fell right down onto the dusty road. He was so tired and so overloaded that he couldn't get up again. In fact, he closed his eyes and didn't move anymore.

Their master came running back when he saw Danny fall. "Oh dear!" he said, looking at poor Danny. "Well, we can't leave all this good stuff here."

So, he untied all the sacks from Danny's back. And where do you think he put them? Right on top of Molly's load! And then, because he didn't want to waste anything, he even put Danny's heavy skin on top of everything else.

Molly groaned. Now she was carrying her own big load, all of Danny's load, AND Danny's skin! The pile on her back was enormous, and so, so heavy.

"Oh dear," she thought, her legs trembling under the enormous weight. "If only I had helped Danny just a little bit. If I had taken just one of his sacks, he might still be walking beside me, and I wouldn't be carrying all of this by myself! This is much worse than sharing a little bit of his load would have been." And Molly trudged on, wishing she had been a kinder friend.

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