The Widower and the Donkey

A man had sat by his wife’s bed for several months as she became more and more ill. Finally, one day the woman passed away. In grief, the man fled from the room and ran through the fields.

“Why?” he cried out to God. “Why did You take my wife from me?”

He saw a donkey nearby that was tied to a cart, though his master was nowhere in sight. In anger, the man yelled at the donkey, “Why do you pull your master’s cart, you stupid animal? Don’t you know that you will only die after a long life of servitude?”

The donkey replied, “That is true. But in my life I have always been very happy. Each day, after a long day of work, my master rubs me down and gives me fresh hay to eat.”

“What good is that?” the widower responded. “Hay is worthless. You would be better off if you were free. You could make something of your life.”

“What good could I do if I were free?” the donkey replied. “If I were free, who would pull the cart? If I were free, where would I get such lovely hay to eat? If I were free, who would give my master’s children rides around the stable?”

“But there is nothing that greets us but death. I just sat for months next to my wife, only to have her die in my arms,” the widower moaned.

“So you are free now of that burden,” said the donkey, “but you are far worse off than I. Do you not realize that each of us is a beast of burden? But when I am ill, my master lightens my load or lets me rest. So too will your Master.

“Go home to your family and friends. You will find that each bears some of the weight that you cannot until you are ready again. When you are ready, you must take up the cart again, because it is only through your work in life that you find the things that matter most. So the time you spent with your wife near the end will become a joy in your life, even though her death is so sad.”

The man wept openly at this, and asked desperately, “But why did God take her from me?”

The donkey answered quietly, “Perhaps it is because He is a loving God. He loves your wife, so He took her away from her pain. He loves you too, which is why He broke the axle of my wagon today. Because if my master had not had to go home to fetch a spare today, who knows what your grief would have driven you to.

“And the Lord loves me, because I know my master will return with a carrot and a kind word. Now go home in both grief and joy, and be greeted with a carrot and a kind word.”