One day a farmer's donkey fell into an abandoned well. The animal cried piteously（可怜地） for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided¹ the animal was too old and the well needed to be covered up anyway; so it just wasn't worth it to him to try to retrieve² the donkey. 

 

He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They each grabbed a shovel³ and began to shovel dirt into the well. Realizing what was happening, the donkey at first cried and wailed⁴ horribly. 

 

Then, a few shovel-fulls later, he quieted down completely. The farmer peered down into the well, and was astounded⁵ by what he saw. With every shovel-full of dirt that hit his back, the donkey would shake it off and take a step up on the new layer of dirt. 

 

As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted⁶ off, to the shock and astonishment⁷ of everyone. 

 

Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to stop wailing⁸, and not let the dirt bury you, but to shake it off and take a step up. Each one of our troubles is a stepping-stone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.

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