Goha and His Donkey Retold by Mahmoud Ibrahim Mostafa

               One summer morning, Goha took his son out to work in his cotton field. He was riding his donkey while his son walked next to him, when they came upon some neighbours sitting by the side of the road. One of them called Goha aside and scolded him for riding the donkey and letting his young son walk on a hot summer day. So Goha got off the donkey, and put his son on the donkey’s back, and continued on his way.

               A few minutes later he passed by some people from his village and greeted them, and one of them replied, “ Goha, don’t you think it is disrespectful of the son to let his father walk while he rides a donkey?” Goha thought about it for a minute, and with a smile on his face, he decided what he should do.

               The next day, Goha and his son walked along with the beast in the dusty and hot afternoon, and they meet a friend doing ablution in preparation for a prayer. The friend suddenly shouted at Goha for putting himself and his son through such a difficult walk, when they could have been riding the strong donkey, and getting to their destination more quickly. Goha, looked up and began to wonder how he could really solve this problem, especially since yesterday he had thought he knew exactly what to do.

               A few days later Goha decided to have both himself and his son ride on the donkey. It was a very hot day, when yet again he came across one of his neighbours, shaking his head and saying, “Goha, don’t you have any pity for the donkey? How can the two of you, father and son alike, be riding a donkey on such a hot day?” And the neighbour left them, shaking his head in disgust. Goha had a very puzzled look on his face, “What am I to do now? One never seems to be able to satisfy anyone in this world. What will I do now?”

               He went home that day not knowing what to do. His wife noticed that something was amiss, but he wouldn’t tell her what it was. He could barely eat, and he gave a big portion of his dinner to his son. The son was very happy, but he thought to himself, “Why is father so troubled? I wish him well; my father is a good man.” Later he went to his room, and as he passed through his father’s room, he noticed that his father was still sitting on his mat deep in thought.

               The very next day, the whole village came out and gathered at the square in the center of the village, looking in disbelief at Goha and his son carrying the donkey on their way to work.