小驴儿(The Young Donkey).docVIP

小驴儿(The Young Donkey) 小驴儿(The Young Donkey).txt 小驴儿（The Young Donkey） Once upon a time there was a king and a queen who were rich and had all they wanted except that they had no children. The queen bewailed this day and night, saying: I am like a field on which nothing grows. At last God granted her wish, but when the baby was born it didnt look like a human child: it was a little donkey foal. When its mother saw this she began to weep and wail all all the more, saying: she would rather have had no child at all than a donkey, and telling the servants to throw it in the river for the fish to eat. But the king said: No, since God has given it to us it shall be my son and heir, and he shall sit on the royal throne after my death and wear the royal crown. So the baby donkey was reared and grew up, and his ears grew up nice and straight too. But he was a merry little creature, jumping about and playing, and in particular he was very fond of music; so he went to a famous minstrel and said: Teach me your skill and make me able to play the lute as well as you. Oh, my dear little sir, answered the minstrel, I think you would find that difficult; after all, sir, your fingers are not the right shape, they are much too big, and Im afraid theyd break the strings. But the donkey wouldnt take no for an answer-play the lute he would and he must, he was patient and worked hard, and learnt in the end to play as well as his master. One day the young gentleman was pensively taking a walk and came to a spring, and looking into its clear bright water he saw he was shaped like a donkey. This upset him so much that he set off into the world, taking only one faithful companion with him. They wandered hither and thither: finally they reached a kingdom ruled by an old king who had only one daughter, but she was of great beauty. Well stay here, said the donkey. So he knocked at the gate and called out: A guest has come, open up and let him in. But when they didnt open the gate he sat down, to