A man, his son and the donkey — A story

A old man and his son planned a vacation, so he bought a donkey (today’s equivalent of a car). The father and his son were excited to spend some bonding time together. The old man got on the donkey since he was older and weaker, and they began their journey, with the son walking alongside him. They were suddenly accosted by someone who said to the father, “Lazy old man! How dare you allow a little boy to walk under the blazing heat of the sun?”

The old man got off and put his son on the donkey. They continued their journey, then a passerby said loudly, “What a foolish old man! Do you want to die in the heat while your son who is youthful and stronger rides on the donkey?” So the father got on the donkey as well.

As they rode through a village, they saw a crowd of people who yelled at them saying “Those two heartless riders are trying to kill that poor donkey.” So they both got off, and walked alongside the donkey and continued their journey.

As they approached another village, they overheard the loud whispers. “These two must either be retarded or slaves to hard life, walking alongside a perfectly strong animal, when they can ride on it!”

The father looked at his son and said: “There’s no wisdom you can apply, there’s no moral conduct you can portray, there’s no path you can take, that will ever satisfy the people of the world.”

This story was told in an old song by Ebenezer Obey, a Nigerian JuJu musician titled Ketekete. The truth is that, there is nothing on earth you can do to please the world.