THE FOOLISH DONKEY

From the translator: To know the culture of an unknown country, read its folklore works and you will feel living their past lives to learn about their culture. This story talks about wisdom of the nation with an ancient history.
Translated by Abdumalik Muminov

Once upon a time, in a small Uzbek village, there was a donkey who thought of himself as the epitome of wisdom.

One sunny morning, this donkey, with a confidence that bordered on the comical, ventured into a lush garden.

His eyes lit up at the sight of the juicy fruits hanging from the trees: apples like rubies, pears as golden as the sun. In the field, the melons, watermelons, and pumpkins, with their bright, perfect skins, seemed to be in a silent battle to be the most delicious.

The donkey looked at these wonderful gifts of nature with a critical look and a slight frown. Then, with an exaggerated movement of his long ears, as if pondering deep philosophical questions, he exclaimed:

“How curious nature is! She has created everything with so much care, but she has certainly got the proportions wrong. Things should be a different size!”

A sparrow, who had been watching the scene from a nearby branch, could not contain his curiosity. With a mischievous tone and a playful nod, he asked the donkey:

“Hey, long-eared friend, what exactly is it about these fruits that you dislike so much? Don’t they seem good enough for your refined palate?”

With a dramatic gesture, the donkey pointed towards the apples and pumpkins, his eyebrows furrowed in deep dismay.

“Don’t you see?” he exclaimed, his voice a mix of surprise and a touch of indignation.

“Look at those apples, hanging from a majestic tree, but they are tiny, barely bigger than a baby’s fist. And then, oh, the pumpkins! Huge, almost as big as my own head, but swaying precariously on those thin and fragile stems. It’s an absurdity of nature!”

The sparrow, with a sly look, said to the donkey:

“That’s the wisdom of nature, my friend. Everything has its reason for being, big or small.”

“And what is wisdom?” muttered the donkey, lost in thought.

“Imagine if apples were as big as pumpkins and pumpkins as small as apples. as small as apples. Now that would be perfect!”

As he rambled on, the donkey nonchalantly approached the apple tree. In a comical twist of fate, just at that instant, an apple came loose from the branch and fell directly on his head, producing a dry and resonant sound:” Tuk!

“Ow, my head!”, cried the donkey, dramatically placing his hooves on his head. “It almost split my head in two!”

The sparrow, barely containing a chuckle, replied in a tone full of irony:

“It’s a good thing that it was only an apple and not a pumpkin! Otherwise, your huge’ head would have been smashed to pieces by now.”

With a mixture of surprise and resignation, the donkey nodded and said, “You’re right, my friend!” And with a slightly wiser look, but still with a hint of pain, he slowly walked away from under the apple tree, probably reflecting on the ironies of life and apples. life and apples.

This story is a window into the ancient wisdom and vibrant traditions of Uzbekistan.