TEACHING AN ASS

    "IDIOT! DOLT! BLUNDER HEAD!"
shouted the owner of an ass as he kicked
it on its way. "What use are you to me? What
use are you to anyone? On your way, you have
lived your life in vain!" He kept up the tirade,
kicking and cudgelling the ass, which quietly
continued, as best it could, on the journey.

They passed a wise man. "What is the point of
this abuse?" he asked. "The beast cannot learn
much from you. It is not made that way. Stop
the noise, therefore, and you learn from the
beast instead."

"Learn from this creature?" spluttered the man.
"What can this brute possibly teach me?"

"For a start: patience and silence in the presence
of an ass."

                                                       SAA'DI