In a distant land, there lived a man who owned a Goat and an Donkey. The Goat always looked at the Donkey and felt a bit jealous because the Donkey had more food than him.
One day, the Goat said to the Donkey, "You work so hard! You're always busy doing tough tasks like carrying heavy loads or grinding grain at the mill. Why don't you pretend to be very sick and fall into a ditch? That way, you could rest for a while."
The Donkey thought this sounded like a good idea, so he followed the Goat's advice. He pretended to be ill and fell into a ditch. However, instead of getting rest, he got badly hurt.
The man who owned them saw the Donkey in pain. He was worried and quickly called for a doctor. The doctor advised, "To heal the Donkey, you need to apply the lungs of a Goat on his wounds."
Without hesitation, the man followed the doctor's advice. He sacrificed the life of the Goat, taking its lungs to treat the wounds of the Donkey. Miraculously, the Donkey's injuries healed, but it marked the unfortunate end of the jealous Goat who had believed the Donkey had a better life.
Once upon a time, in a land where animals wore shades, there were two animal buddies: a Goat and an Donkey. Now, Goat had a major case of the "green-eyed monster." That's right, he was jealous. He looked at Donkey munching on gourmet hay like it was a five-star meal and thought, "Life's just not fair!"
One sunny day, Goat waltzed over to Donkey. "Hey, you! Ever thought about taking a vacation? You're always lugging stuff around or pushing heavy things. You deserve a break, mate!"
Donkey scratched his head. "A break, huh? Go on."
"How 'bout this: pretend you're sick—like, really sick. Maybe cough a little, throw in some dramatics, and then, whoopsie-daisy, tumble into a ditch! You'll get a day off, I promise!"
Donkey chuckled, "Well, it sounds better than a day at the spa!" So, Donkey put on his best "sick" face, which was a mix of someone eating a lemon and getting a brain freeze, and then he went all gymnast and somersaulted into a ditch. Ta-da!
But hold your horses—instead of a relaxing day off, Donkey got boo-boos all over. Ouch!
The man who owned them saw Donkey wincing and thought, "Uh-oh, that's not a happy donkey face!" So, he dialed up Doc McAnimal. Doc McAnimal had a very serious look on his face. "Ah, yes, quite the conundrum! To fix this Donkey, we'll need the lungs of a Goat—don't ask, it's very scientific and complicated. Or maybe it's just weird. Either way, it works."
The owner didn't question the doctor's unusual prescription. Without missing a beat, he thought, "Well, if Doc McFarm says so." And oh dear, before you could say "baa-bye," Goat went from living the dream to becoming part of a magic healing recipe. Donkey's owies started to heal up like they'd been kissed by a magical fairy or something.
Feeling all better, Donkey realized something really big—sometimes the hay mountain just looks more delicious from the other side of the fence. And Goat? Well, he learned the hard way that being jealous can be, let's just say, really bad for your health. Like, you-could-end-up-as-a-magic-recipe kind of bad.
Once there was a Goat and an Donkey,
Living together, sharing grdonkey.
Goat looked at Donkey's bigger plate,
Feeling jealous, oh, he couldn't wait.
"Dear Donkey," Goat said, "you work so much,
Carrying loads and such and such.
Pretend you're sick and take a spill,
Then you'll have time to rest and chill."
Donkey liked the plan, thought it was neat,
So he took a tumble, skipped a beat.
But what he found, oh, what a mess,
He got hurt, more rather than less.
The owner saw, his face turned blue,
Called the doctor, "What do we do?"
"Use Goat's lungs to make Donkey fine,
That's my advice, follow the line."
The owner nodded, did as told,
Now Donkey felt better, strong and bold.
But for Goat, it was the end,
His jealousy had cost his bend.
A lion spares a tiny mouse who promises to return the favor one day. How could such a small mouse possibly help a lion?
When a farmer brings a bundle of sticks to his sons, they stop arguing. How did a simple bundle of sticks teach them?
While the grasshopper dances through summer, the ant works hard, gathering food. Which one will survive when winter arrives?
The powerful North Wind and the gentle Sun try to make a traveler take off his cloak to prove who is stronger. Which one will succeed?
A king's elephant and a dog form a friendship, are suddenly separated, but they are reunited by the king and live happily.
A thirsty crow finds a pitcher with water too low to reach. What clever trick will he use to get a drink?
Steady and patient, a slow tortoise dares to race against a confident hare. Who will cross the finish line first?
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Suspendisse varius enim in eros elementum tristique. Duis cursus, mi quis viverra ornare, eros dolor interdum nulla, ut commodo diam libero vitae erat. Aenean faucibus nibh et justo cursus id rutrum lorem imperdiet. Nunc ut sem vitae risus tristique posuere.
Enjoy 25 selected fables for life, in print. Every purchase supports free stories for children, parents, and teachers worldwide at fablereads.com
Learn More
