1 Donna the donkey was doing her daily duty. Donna had to drag the sled piled high with wood up and down a steep, dry road all day. It was a dirty job, and Donna was thirsty. Donna paused to take a drink of cool water from the creek. As she drank, Donna dreamed of doing something besides hauling wood.
2 For Donna, each day was just like the one before. Some days she would drag the sled loaded with wood from dawn to dark. Her donkey body pulled the sled dozens of miles each day. Her owner, a woodcutter, fed her enough, but she was dirty and tired from dragging the heavy loads of wood up and down the hillside.
3 One dreadfully hot day, Donna was daydreaming while she was trudging down the dusty road. She didn't see a dip in the road and took a bad tumble. Donna had badly injured her leg. She would no longer be able to work. The woodsman who owned Donna felt he had no other choice: the donkey would have to be sold.
4 The next day, an old man appeared at the woodcutter's farm. He asked the woodcutter if he knew anyone who had a gentle donkey for sale. The woodcutter told the old man he had a working donkey, but she had been hurt and was no longer useful.
5 The old man then asked, "How much for the lame donkey?" The woodcutter said, "Donna is yours if you will take her off my hands." So that is just what he did.
Paragraphs 6 to 11:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
