A Tale of Two Asses

Yesterday was one of those days when hubby and I really hadn't crossed paths all day.  Wednesday being his half-day at the office he had come home at lunchtime and gone out somewhere.  I hadn't gotten home until later due to staying at church to clean up after Holy Week services.  I was deep into laundry and getting ready for Easter when the phone rang.  "You haven't started supper have you?"  Well, uh, I really wasn't even planning on cooking, so I answered, "Not yet."  "Well," he said over truck noises in the background,"I'm on my way home with two donkeys and wondered if you would like to ride with me to deliver them."   After a glance out the window, at a rare sunny day, I dumped the housework and said , "Sure".

Now the idea of hubby dealing with two donkeys was already bubbling in my head.  My first riding animal was a donkey.  I am reasonably familiar with the little beasts.  They are darling to look at with their sweet faces their long, fuzzy ears and tiny feet,  but what is between their ears is pure devilment.  My dad brought home my little donkey to start my riding career.  A strange choice but in his words, "A donkey will never put himself in danger.  So as long as she doesn't fall off, she should be safe."  Thus arrived my dear Poncho Vio.  I was probably all of six at the time and daddy was right, I was never in danger. 

We lived in town but we had lots of empty lots and little plots of pasture land where I could keep Poncho.  Soon we were a fixture riding around town.  Even though he was small, I still couldn't get into the saddle by myself.  So when I would get off, I had to figure out how to get myself back on.  It wasn't long before I figured out that if I led Poncho to a patch of grass he would drop his head and start eating.  Then I would climb on his head, put my feet behind his ears and when he raised his head up, I could slide down his neck.  Then all I had to do was turn around and I was mounted.  That patient little animal never once ran off with me, kicked at me or in any way caused me a bit of trouble.  However, that can not be said of his efforts to get at the neighborhood boys.  All the bigger boys thought it would be fun to ride the little jackass.  That is until they tried.  No matter the size Poncho soon had them scurrying away.  Teeth, hooves, and an angry inclination to use both were an effective deterrent. 

So, when hubby said he had two donkeys, I knew he was already having fun.  Besides being cautious, careful, and gentle (sometimes) they can also be cross, stubborn, smart, mischievous, and pure devils.  They may look like little horses (except for the ears) but they think different.  Put a donkey in a field he doesn't like and he'll just put himself somewhere else.  If he gets bored, he'll just entertain himself--either by braying at odd hours, taking down gates, chasing other animals, or just leaving.  They are master escape artists.   Put horses and donkeys together and the donkey will be the boss, every time.  They like to be the herd leader and are fiercely protective of their herd.  Which is exactly why we got into this trip.   A friend had wanted a couple of donkeys to put with his cattle to keep the coyotes away. 

I haven't figured out how long it took them to load the donkeys on the trailer but it was long enough that hubby scrapped the plan of bringing them home and delivering them tomorrow.  He figured that although he had gotten them on the trailer once he would never be able to do it again.  So here we went through the beautiful spring afternoon to deliver the donkeys.  The trip went uneventfully and soon we were ready to unload our cargo.  We pulled into a lovely, green field and opened the gate to the trailer.  Hubby mumbles something about the stubborn fools probably won't come off the trailer, now.  However, they ambled off as though a fractious thought had never crossed their minds and soon were checking out their new surroundings.  They were precious, little things, all big ears and bright eyes. 

We pulled out of the field while I checked the fences and gates, chuckling.  I couldn't help but wonder if the farmer had a clue what he was in for.  I wished I could see his face when his little charges decided to greet the morning with a trumpet blast of  brays under his window.  I wondered how he would react when he went to the field to check on them and discovered them at the neighbors.  I wondered how his neighbors would react to a donkey symphony under their windows.  Boy!  Was he going to have fun!