Post #9751

💝 There was a sculptor in a village who was an excellent carver. He would carry the carved figures on his donkey and sell them in the nearby market. ❤️ One day, the sculptor carved a figure of a goddess. The doll was very beautiful and divine. He carefully placed the doll on the donkey and took it to the next village. 💖 People passing by on the road saw the figure of the deity and thought it was a real deity being carried. 💞 However, all this seemed different to the donkey. She thought everyone was looking at her and saluting her. 💓 As she walked, everyone stopped and saluted, and the donkey became proud. 💕 She thought, "Do I look like an important figure and deserve so much respect?" She was surprised. She thought, "I don't need to listen to anyone anymore." 💞 After a while, the donkey felt pain in her legs, so she stopped in the middle of the road. Even though the donkey had stopped, people continued to offer garlands to the deity on her back. No matter how much the sculptor coaxed the donkey to move, it did not budge. 💖 The donkey thought, "I am great if all the people of the village respect me! Why should someone as noble as me listen to the words of the master?" So, she did not move from there. ❤️ The sculptor got frustrated and took the idol of the deity off the donkey, placing it on his own head, and moved on. 💕 The donkey closed her eyes with pride, thinking, "If he's gone, he's gone." When she opened her eyes after a while, there was no one near her. 💓 Everyone was walking behind her master. In the meantime, a passerby hit the donkey on the back with a stick as it crossed the road. With that, the donkey became enlightened. ❤️ She thought, "I thought too highly of myself unnecessarily. If I stay here any longer, my back will break." So, she ran to her owner. 💝 Niti: It would be foolish to assume that the courtesies of being around the great are permanent. @InspiringThoughts