Michael Millward
15th Jun 2026
Aesop told the story of the Horse and the Donkey to explain that in the long term we gain nothing by being selfish.
A Horse and a Donkey were travelling along a road together with the man who owned them both.
The Horse had nothing on his back, but the Donkey had such a heavy load that he could hardly keep moving. So, he begged the Horse to share the load.
The Horse was an ill-natured selfish beast and refused.
A few miles further down the road the Donkey fell, exhausted to the ground. The man tried his best to relieve the Donkey, but it was too late, the Donkey died.
Distraught, the man took the load the Donkey had been carrying, and put it on to the horse’s back, together with the skin of the dead Donkey.
Because the Horse refused to give a small kindness to the Donkey, he created even more work for himself, and a great deal of trouble.
We gain nothing by being selfish with our expertise.