It was a very hot summer’s day and there were lots of animals drinking water from a stream that had almost dried up.

It was a very strange sight to see a lion and a chicken drinking water from the same stream without the lion attacking the chicken. The lion was so thirsty that he forgot to attack the chicken. However, the smaller animals wisely fled as soon as the predators finished their drink.

After all the other animals had gone, two were still seen sitting by the stream drinking leisurely and enjoying every sip. The horse, who was a dark black stallion of royal breed with a streak of white in the middle, was called “Black Beauty” and the donkey was a dull grey with a streak of brown, named “Jack Ass”.

They sat peacefully drinking their share. Their young ones came and joined the two animals and enjoyed the pleasant drink and games. They soon fell asleep and as soon as the horse noticed that no one was listening, he started insulting the donkey. He called him a slow coach and challenged him to a race.

Jack Ass tried to point out that he could carry weight, but was not meant to run fast. The horse kept insulting him and the donkey soon gave up trying to convince the horse that every animal in the kingdom had a different role to play. Jack Ass did not express his feelings but his heart was crying silently. Finally, the horse fell asleep and the donkey had a peaceful cry to himself.

A few days later, Jack Ass found Black Beauty lying sprawled on the ground with a broken leg. He saw a hunter in the distance and immediately guessed that the hunter must have tried to kill Black Beauty. Luckily, Black Beauty had escaped but, unfortunately, he had hurt his leg in the process. The donkey forgot all about the insults the horse had barked at him and how he had cried that night. All the donkey cared about was that he had to nurse the horse properly to make sure the horse survives.

He helped Black Beauty sit up against a tree. The donkey’s tears were now for the horse’s good health. Each time Black Beauty felt pain, Jack Ass felt pain with him. Each time Black Beauty felt relief, the happiness passed on to the donkey.

Later Jack Ass brought food and water for Black Beauty and the horse felt so ashamed of his behaviour that he cried with shame and repentance. Black Beauty asked the donkey for forgiveness and the donkey’s reply was, “You were already forgiven long before you asked for it.”

Jack Ass brought food and water for Black Beauty every day and cared for the horse as best as he could. One day when Jack Ass arrived with food for his friend, he saw Black Beauty moving about almost as gracefully as before. The proud horse ran towards his friend to show that he was well again and happily thanked him for saving his life and nursing him back to health. Then together they went towards Black Beauty’s home where everyone was delighted to have him back. From that day onwards Jack Ass and Black Beauty became the best of friends.

Black Beauty’s accident proved to be a blessing in disguise. It improved his character forever. It was unfortunate that Black Beauty had to go through so much pain before he reached perfection, but sometimes this is the way life is.

Published in Dawn, Young World, July 21st, 2018