Once in Africa there lived a man and his donkey. The man earned his living by hiring his donkey out to travelers.
One day, a traveler hired it to travel to a city in the desert. They set off in the morning, with the traveler sitting on the donkey’s back and the owner walking behind it.
After traveling for a few hours, the sun climbed overhead and the desert became as hot as an oven. The traveler was tired and wanted to rest.
He got off the donkey’s back and looked for a place where he could take relief from the blazing sun. But, in the hot desert, the only place that offered some shade was the donkey’s shadow. So he spread a mat and sat down in the donkey’s shadow.
The owner also tried to fit himself into the shadow, but he couldn’t.
“You have only hired the donkey, not the shadow of the donkey,” the owner grumbled.
“I have hired the donkey and this means the shadow and all features of it.” replied the traveler.
For a long time they argued. The traveler tried to sit on the donkey and get away. The furious owner grabbed the donkey’s collar and they began to fight.
As they kept fighting, the donkey got tired. Finally, the donkey galloped away on its own.
The traveler had to then continue his journey on foot, sweating in the heat, and the unlucky owner spent hours under the sun looking for his donkey.
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