The Wandering Monks
Long ago two old monks walked from village to village. The monks had a very hard-working donkey for their bags. Every day the donkey carried heavy sacks and never complained. The monks collected food and money from the villagers. The dear donkey woke up early every morning and set off. The years passed and the faithful donkey became very old. One day the poor animal fell down and died.
At first the monks were a little sad about their donkey. But then a very clever idea came to them. They made a big beautiful drum from the donkey's skin. With the new drum they went from village to village and played music. A curious villager saw them and came closer. The villager asked the monks, "What happened to your old donkey?" The monks smiled and hit the big drum quickly.
A monk said, "Our donkey is dead, but he still earns money for us." The sound of the drum filled the whole village square. The villager heard this answer and was very surprised. The monks played the drum and went on their way. Clever people always want to use the work of others. The donkey dies and leaves its saddle, the man dies and leaves his work.