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The Donkey Egg 驴子的蛋 One fall morning a farmer waved good-bye to his family and walked to town to sell their old donkey. "Be sure to bring back a young, frisky1 donkey," his wife called after him. "And pots of gold!" called his greedy daughter. When he reached the market, the farmer cried out, "Hee-haw, donkey for sale! Hee-haw, donkey for sale!" Now, the pumpkin2 seller wanted a donkey, but he didn't want to pay much. "I'll give you one silver coin!?he shouted. "Oh, I will need more than that to buy a young, frisky donkey," said the farmer. "You're in luck!" said the pumpkin seller. "I have just what you need. This pumpkin is really a donkey egg. Take it home and keep it warm until it hatches, and you will have a new donkey." "A new donkey!" exclaimed the farmer. He slipped the coin into his pocket, put the pumpkin under his arm, and plodded3 home. "Only one silver coin," sobbed his greedy daughter. "Where's the new donkey?"wailed4 his wife. "Here is our new donkey," cried the farmer, holding up the pumpkin. "All we have to do is keep this donkey egg warm until it hatches." At night they wrapped the pumpkin in a blanket. In the daytime they sat on the donkey egg to keep it warm. The first week the farmer's wife perched5 on the pumpkin. She sewed new dresses from cloth bought with the silver coin. Every evening they put their ears against the pumpkin. "Do you hear any long ears flapping6?"they asked one another. "Not yet," they answered. The second week his daughter sat on the pumpkin. She spread her skirt wide to keep the pumpkin warm and read tales about handsome princes. Every evening they put their ears against the pumpkin. "Do you hear any hooves tapping?"7 they asked one another. "Not yet," they answered. The third week the farmer sat on the pumpkin. He drew pictures of a cart hitched to his new donkey. Every evening they put their ears against the pumpkin. "Do you hear a faraway "hee-haw?" they asked one another. But they heard no hooves tapping, no long ears flapping, and no faraway "hee-haw." Suddenly the farmer grabbed the pumpkin. "This donkey egg is no good!" he cried. The farmer ran from the house and threw the pumpkin down a hill. The pumpkin crashed into bushes at the bottom. The crash woke a long-eared rabbit. The frightened rabbit jumped out of the bushes and hopped8 away. The farmer watched the rabbit and wailed, "oh no! If only we had sat on the donkey egg longer! That little animal would have grown into a beautiful big donkey with giant ears and a long tail!" Then the farmer went down the hill and picked pumpkin seeds out of the broken pumpkin and carried them home. "I'll plant these seeds and grow more donkey eggs," he told his wife and daughter. Hee-haw! |