Donkey and His Shadow

Aesop's Fables

A TRAVELLER hired a Donkey to convey him to a distant place. The day being intensely hot, and the sun shining in its strength, the Traveller stopped to rest, and sought shelter from the heat under the shadow of the Donkey.

As this afforded only protection for one, and as the Traveller and the owner of the Donkey both claimed it, a violent dispute arose between them as to which of them had the right to the Shadow. The owner maintained that he had lent the Donkey only, and not his Shadow.

The Traveller asserted that he had, with the hire of the Donkey, hired his Shadow also. The quarrel proceeded from words to blows, and while the men fought, the Donkey galloped off.

Moral: In quarreling about the shadow we often lose the substance.