I’m not precious, okay? Diamonds and rubies don’t fall out of my mouth when you say the word, “bricklebrit.” I’m just an ordinary working mule. I don’t get special treatment in the landlord’s stable. Nobody feeds me the best oats and hay.

When Antonio mistook me for his precious donkey, he took me home and presented me to his mother. She spread her best tablecloths on the floor where I stepped. Then Antonio called out, “Bricklebrit!” expecting diamonds to fall out of my mouth. All I could do was bray. Antonio was furious, and he beat me so badly he nearly broke every bone in my body. He only stopped when his mother stepped in to save her pretty tablecloths. When she started beating Antonio, I got out of the house and hobbled back to the stable.

The moral of the story is: Better to be an ordinary ass than a precious donkey who disappoints!

An Ordinary Ass in The Ogre, Grey Fairy Book. Painting by Charles Hunt.