A parable

A man and his son began a journey by mounting their donkey and setting off.

As they passed through the first village they came across, the townspeople stared and whispered and pointed. Eventually a young girl went up to them and said, "My mommy says that you should be ashamed of yourselves for overloading that poor donkey like that. The two of you are too heavy for that creature to carry."

The father said, "You are right. Son, you shall ride the donkey while I walk."

So they continued to the next village. Again, the townspeople were staring and whispering and pointing. An old man strode up to the pair and reprimanded the boy.

"Shame on you! You sit there on your donkey like some sort of indolent prince while your father walks."

The boy said, "He is right. Here, father, you ride the donkey while I walk."

When they got to the third village, yet again the townsfolk stared and whispered and pointed. This time, it was a middle-aged woman who yelled, "What's wrong with you? You ride that donkey while your son walks?"

The father said, "When we both ride, they say we burden the beast. When you ride, they say I am burdened. When I ride, they say you are burdened. We shall both walk. That should leave them nothing to say."

At the fourth village, no whispering was going on. Instead, there was laughter. A little boy walked up to them and said, "Why do you walk when you lead a perfectly good donkey? You must be the strangest people I have ever seen."

The moral of the story? Don't ride a donkey. Rent a car instead.