I was born in Bethany, about 4 miles outside Jerusalem. The first year of my life was not particularly happy. I can hardly remember my mother, and I’ve never met my father who lives on a stud farm at Ein Kerem. Merchants and their children don’t regard donkeys as pets. In fact children use to laugh at me and say “Is there anything sillier than the donkey?” If I lay on the ground to scratch my back on the stones waving my feet in the air, they laughed at me. And when I was happy and want to sing for joy, they laughed all the louder.  I don’t know why, when I want to talk, it comes out as a sickening cry. They thought was the funniest thing they’d ever heard.

 

I was a year old, and I’d never had any load placed on my back. That was not unusual, because, although we donkeys are full grown at one year, it takes three years for the joints of our knees and thighs to be strong enough to take a heavy load. So a sensible owner doesn’t use his donkey at all in the first year, and only for light loads in the second and third year. But very few humans are sensible – they are more interested in making money than in looking after their working animals. In fact that’s why my mother died so soon after I was born. They didn’t wait long enough after my birth before they put heavy loads on her again, and one day and under an enormous burden she collapsed. No-one came to help her, and she lay there till she died. Our Almighty Creator had given orders to these people to be kind even to donkeys. They were not allowed to yoke a donkey and an ox together, because it would be unkind to the donkey. And if someone saw a donkey collapsed under a big load, even if the donkey belonged to one of your worst enemies, they still had to help the donkey. Sadly, people do not always obey the words of the Creator. There was no one there to help my mother. She was only a donkey.

 

But you can mock, curse, deride us, we are not as dumb as people think

 

There are two stories that donkeys always tell when human beings are not around. One of them is about one of my ancestors who had a prophet riding on his back. The prophet never saw an angel with a flaming sword standing in the way, but the so-called stupid donkey saw the Angel and he was given the ability to speak in Hebrew and not just with our sickening cry. So I knew that we donkeys sometimes are wiser than people. Another story is about a man of God who defied the word of the Lord, and as he was riding along on his donkey, a lion came and killed him, just as the prophet had predicted. Then the lion and the donkey stood together side-by-side until the prophet arrived, and the lion never touched that donkey. The King of the beasts and the donkey, standing shoulder to shoulder. So I knew we were not silly as the children thought. Still, I sometimes used to watch the important Roman soldiers with a beautiful silver and red uniforms riding past on black stallions, and I really did wish that I had been a horse.

And because my mother died so soon after I was born, she never gave me a name, and that always made me feel that I was a nobody.

 

I spent most of my life tied up to a pole with a little bit of food and water just in reach. The only exercise I got was when on occasion they would tie me to the back of the caravan of donkeys delivering stuff to Jerusalem, so that I could get exercise and get used to the route.

 

Then one great day – the day after the Sabbath – some strangers arrived and started untying me, which made me uneasy. Next thing, the merchant put his head out of the door and asked what they were doing, and they gave a strange answer: “The master has need of him.” I did not understand this, but what amazed me was that the merchant, who is not a kind or generous man, simply nodded his head and turned back inside. They took me to a little house on the other side of town, near the main road from Jericho to Jerusalem. It is always a bit busy on that road, but that day there were crowds of people and a lot of excitement. I did not mind that too much because I’ve been in Jerusalem and been among big crowds.

 

Then one of the strangers took a great big heavy purple clock and threw it over me. It was the first time I had had anything on my back. I felt all the nerves on my back twitch as the cloak touched me. It warned me of something to come. By this time people were getting more and more excited and some of them were running around chopping off branches of palm trees, and the children started singing catchy little tunes. And then there was a great stir in the crowd as a man dressed in calico came out of the house. He had a beard and long dark brown hair, and a tired, but kind face. Everyone crowded around him.  He was obviously the most important person there. They brought him to me, and started to lift the him onto my back. At that moment, all of my ancient crooked will kicked in and I shied and bucked against taking my first load. I was ready to kick anyone in sight. But then the man gently stretched out his hand and touched the side of my neck. I felt a lovely warmth flow from his hand into my body, almost as if the Creator had touched me. And in that moment all my crooked will was straightened out. Then they lifted him and put him on my back while I stood still. But he was a big strong man, and I was shocked at the weight of him. And a great sadness came over me as I thought to myself, “This is what the rest of my life is going to be like.” And again the big man leaned forward and stroked my neck and I felt myself strangely calmed.

 

And then the procession began. It started up the hill from Bethany from where you could not see Jerusalem. And then after about a mile-and-a-half, we came over the brow of the hill and saw one of the great sights of the world – the golden city of Jerusalem with its brand-new temple of white marble. At that point the crowd began to shout and rejoice and sing and wave the palm branches more than before, and I thought the man on my back must be so pleased and excited. But then I felt a strange thing: drops of warm water falling onto my neck. I looked around and saw on the man’s face terrible sadness, and tears were streaming down his cheeks. But the people kept on shouting and rejoicing. Some angry men at the side of the road shouted to the man, “Tell your disciples to be quiet.” And he replied to them, “If they do not rejoice, the very stones will cry out and praise me.”

 

By this time, a great joy which is not often given to donkeys had come to me. There was a shout about my ears, and palms before my feet. And I thought I would like to shout and sing as well, but almost as if he understood, he again put his hand on my neck as if to say, “I know that all creatures praise me, but the people will not understand your voice and will only laugh at you. But thank you.”