Page 178 - The Book of Rumi

The Water Carrier’s Donkey

n the past, cities did not generally have running water, and therefore a water
Icarrier would go from house to house to provide people with their daily
water needs. In the capital city, there was an old water carrier who owned
a donkey who’d pulled the man’s water cart faithfully all his life. The poor
beast’s back had been bent in two because of the weight he had to carry every
day, and his body was covered with untreated scabs and cuts.
His owner, not a great animal lover, did not feed the poor animal prop-
erly, because he could only afford old hay. The minute he mounted the donkey
to make him walk faster, he’d beat him heartlessly with his whip, inflicting yet

more wounds on the poor animal. The donkey, blessed with patience, obedi-
ence, and good temperament, wished every single day for God to take his life
and free him from his constant suffering.
One day as they were doing their rounds, they bumped into the water car-
rier’s old friend, who tended the sultan’s stables. When the man saw the sorry
state of the donkey, he was quite taken aback: “What’s the matter with him?
Why does he look so spent?”
“It’s no fault of his,” the owner was quick to reply. “He looks like this
because I can’t afford to feed him.”
“Let me take him with me to the stables and tend to him. I’ll feed him
properly and let him revive a little,” offered the friend generously.
The water carrier couldn’t be happier with the offer and parted with his
companion, hoping to pick him up the following week all plumped up and
ready to serve him again. The donkey soon found himself tied up in the sul-
tan’s stables surrounded by beautiful, robust Arabian studs. When he realized
what a great difference there was between himself and his new stablemates, he
became disheartened and turned to God:
“Even if I’m a lowly donkey, I’m still one of Your creations! Why should
there be such a difference between me and these other four-legged relatives
of mine? Why should I suffer hunger all the time? Why should I endure pain
all night long, able to sleep only fi tfully, wishing every day that I were dead?

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