Written by Rick Schroeder
A donkey came into a village and found an ox lying by a well.
“Mr. Ox,” asked the donkey, “why do you lie by this well?”
“Why do I lie by this well, Brother Donkey?” replied the ox. “I will tell you why I lie by this well. Because I am old, I can no longer pull the heavy plow. My master said that I was too weak and feeble to be of use and he sent me away. I came to this village, but the villagers make fun of me and call me names. I am alone and without a home.”
“Let not your heart be troubled, Mr. Ox. Neither let it be afraid. Stay here. I will come again, for I go to prepare a place for you. In my Father’s house are many mansions.”
The donkey drew water from the well and gave it to the ox. The ox was amazed and he drank the water.
The donkey departed.
Further down the path the donkey came upon a hen crying by a fence.
“Miss Hen,” asked the donkey, “why do you cry by this fence?”
“Why do I cry by this fence, Brother Donkey?” began the hen. “I will tell you why I cry by this fence. My chicks and I fled to escape the cruel and oppressive living conditions imposed upon us by the farmer. He locked us in a coop all day, and we lacked freedom and opportunity. We escaped to this village, but the villagers do not welcome us and only want our eggs! We are alone and without a home.”
“Let not your heart be troubled, Miss Hen. Neither let it be afraid. Stay here. I will come again, for I go to prepare a place for you. In my Father’s house are many mansions.” The donkey gave the hen and her chicks some seeds. They were amazed and they ate the seeds.
The donkey departed.
As the donkey was leaving the village he spied a fox shivering and hiding behind a tree.
“Mr. Fox,” asked the donkey, “why do you shiver and hide behind this tree?”
“Why do I shiver and hide behind this tree, Brother Donkey?” exclaimed the fox. “I will tell you why I shiver and hide behind this tree. When I was young I committed many wrongs. I was ostracized and forced to leave my home. I traveled to this village, but the villagers will neither forgive nor accept me. Though I have changed my ways, I remain an outsider. I am cold and I hide behind this tree because I am ashamed. I am alone and without a home.”
“Let not your heart be troubled, Mr. Fox. Neither let it be afraid. Stay here. I will come again, for I go to prepare a place for you. In my Father’s house are many mansions.”
The donkey gave the fox clothes. The fox was amazed and he put on the clothes.
The donkey departed and left the village.
Several days later the donkey returned to the village. He gathered the ox, the hen and her chicks, and the fox.
“Do not be afraid,” said the donkey. “I have come to take you back with me, so that you may be where I am, also.”
As the donkey led them away, they did not know what to expect but were happy to leave the village and be together.
The donkey brought each to their new dwellings. The donkey wished each of them well and departed.
At first the ox, the hen, her chicks, and the fox were disappointed: the dwellings, while clean and comfortable, were plain and unremarkable. They did not at all look like the ‘mansions’ that they had envisioned. But gradually, they came to accept and love their surroundings and their new friends.
After one year the donkey returned. When he saw the ox, the hen and her chicks, and the fox, together in the courtyard, he asked how they were.
“Oh, Brother Donkey, we could not be happier,” replied the ox. “I am no longer made fun of or called names. Though I am old, my remaining strength still allows me to help my fellow residents. I have never felt more useful.”
“Oh, Brother Donkey, we could not be more hopeful,” chirped the hen. “We are no longer oppressed. With the support of my fellow residents, the chicks and I now have an opportunity for a better life.”
“Oh, Brother Donkey, we could not be more accepted,” stated the fox. “I am no longer ostracized, but forgiven and accepted by my fellow residents. I am no longer ashamed, and have resolved to help others who were once like me.”
The donkey smiled. “My friends,” he began, “you all have come here under different circumstances. Some of you were rejected, some of you were oppressed, some of you were ostracized—all of you were alone and needed a home. In my father’s house are many mansions—a place where all are welcome and accepted, a place where all may live their life to its fullest potential. While it was I who prepared a place for you, it was you who have made it a home.”