One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours. Finally the farmer decided since the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up, it just wasn’t worth it to retrieve the donkey. So, the farmer invited all his neighbours to help him. They all grabbed shovels, and began to shovel dirt into the well.

All the other farm animals were very upset about this, because the donkey was their friend. At first, when the donkey realised what was happening, he cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amaz-ement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down and was astonished at what he saw.

With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey would shake it off, and take a step up on the piled dirt. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well, and trotted off.

MORAL: Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. But each trouble can be a stepping stone. What happens to you isn’t nearly as important as how you react to it. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not giving up!

Shake it off, and take a step up!