The bull invited his friends to a banquet. “I won’t bring anything because I’m already lending my house,” he said. The dog took advantage of this and added, “I will bring a bone I found the other day.” The horse also intervened: “I can contribute with a piece of cheese left from last year’s carnival. It’s a bit rancid, but it hasn’t turned green yet.”
Everyone looked at the hen, waiting for her to announce her contribution. “Ah, of course… So, will I provide everything else? – she stammered –. I suppose so… the firewood, the rice, the beans, and the work. I was the only one missing…”
On the day of the banquet, the hen arrived early with a scarf tied on her head and a machete in her hand. She was sweating, covered in ashes, carrying the firewood she had struggled to chop. She also brought rice, beans, and corn. The work was immense. So much so, that when it came time to put salt in the beans, she accidentally added too much. They became overly salty!
The guests arrived in the evening when everything was already ready. The horse gave his cheese, served himself a large plate, and after tasting the beans, complained: “Oh no, hen, is this salt with beans or beans with salt? Hahaha!”
The hen cleared her throat, held back her tears, and pretended to be cheerful while continuing to work.
Then came the dog with his bone, which had only a strip of skin on it. He placed it down, served himself a large plate, and also complained: “Hey! Do you think we’re bulls to lick salt like this?” The only one who didn’t complain was the bull (because bulls like salt).
The hen ran home and brought more beans, quality beans. She seasoned them with the exact amount of salt, and the smell that escaped from the pot filled the whole house. The horse and the dog served themselves twice. They ate with pleasure but didn’t even think of thanking the hen.
Throughout the party, the hen stayed in the kitchen working, while the others laughed and told stories without ever thinking of her. When the party ended, they left one by one. They said goodbye to each other, but no one entered the kitchen to thank the hen.
Exhausted, the hen looked for something to eat, but there was nothing left. She found only a crust of dried beans at the bottom of the pot. On an empty stomach, she tightened her belt and began washing the dishes and cleaning up the mess they had left behind.
It was like this at every party. They would come, have fun, and leave. They never thought of the hen, because she was always in the kitchen giving her all. Until the day when, at a party like that, the hen didn’t come.
That day, there was only mouldy cheese and dry bones. No tasty food, no firewood, no one to cook. No quality beans as she knew how to prepare them. The party lost all its charm, and for the first time, they remembered her. They went looking for her, not because they missed her, but because they needed her.
“Let’s go to her house! Do you know where she lives?” “No…” “Me neither…” After several hours, they passed by a cold and abandoned cave. From the depths, they heard a murmured voice: “Forgive me, mother… I just wanted to protect the family…”
Those were the hen’s last words before disappearing. Her voice had remained trapped in the echo of the cave. The animals entered hoping to find her, but she was no longer there. Only the echo of her voice resonated again and again. The animals ran to the goat’s house, her only friend, to get answers. “Where is the hen? Why was she living in a cave? Why did she never tell us she had no home? Why does her voice keep echoing, asking her mother for forgiveness?”
The goat sighed and replied: “Do you really not know? She worked for you all this time, and you didn’t even notice she had no home. What kind of friends are you? You didn’t even know she had no family!”
The bull, the horse, and the dog looked at each other, unable to say a word.
Then the goat revealed the truth to them: “Long ago, she lived in a chicken coop and had a happy family. One day, a snake entered, and the hen fought bravely to protect her own, while her sisters fled into the trees. The snake bit her. Instead of thanking her, her family chased her away, fearing the venom would spread. Since then, she has had no home or family. She lived in that cave, and while she supported your commodity, her own life was falling apart. She brought you joy, gave you comfort, but at night, only her pillow knew how many tears she shed.”
The bull, the horse, and the dog opened their eyes wide, astonished, and lowered their heads.
“Do you want to know where she is? – asked the goat –. She sank into a deep depression and no longer has the strength to work. I took her out of the cave, and I’m taking care of her.”
How many bulls, horses, and dogs live and react like the donkey in the fable.
One day, a peasant went to his neighbor to ask for a rope to tie his donkey. The neighbor told him he didn’t have a rope but gave him advice: “You pretend to tie the donkey by making the same gestures around its neck, and it won’t move.”
The peasant followed his neighbor’s advice. The next morning, he found his donkey in the same spot. He petted it and wanted to take it to the fields, but the donkey refused to move! The man tried with all his strength to move it, but in vain, until he became discouraged. He returned to his neighbor to ask for advice, who asked him: “Did you pretend to untie the donkey?”
The peasant, surprised, replied: “But there is no rope!” His neighbor said: “For you, but for the donkey, the rope is there, very real.” The man returned to the donkey, pretended to untie it, and the donkey followed him without the slightest resistance!
Do not mock that donkey. We are often prisoners of our habits or illusory beliefs and do not see the invisible rope that surrounds our mind, prevents us from seeing the reality of others, and even from advancing in our own lives.