Imitation

Imitation

One day, the donkey heard someone singing a beautiful song. Listening to it made him ver happy. He wanted to know who was singing so melodiously and hence went in search of the singer. Finally he reached a pasture where he found a cloud of grasshoppers happily singing together.

The donkey went to them and asked, " All of you sing so beautifully. I am a singer too. Can i join you in singing? " " Why not? We' ll be happy to have you join us, " the grasshoppers said.

The grasshoppers started to sing and the donkey joined them braying. Obviously, donkey's braying was out of tune with the singing of the grasshoppers. Even though the grasshoppers realized the discord in the donkey's singing, they didn't remark on it. The donkey realized that he could never mimic their melody and finally stopped singing.

"You guys have such a sweet voice. How did you all get such a sweet singing voice?" the donkey asked.

The grasshoppers looked at each other. They thought of pulling a trick on him. They said, " We consume the fresh dewdrops we find on the grass ever morning. That accounts for our sweet singing voice. "

" I will do so from now onwards, " said the donkey as the grasshoppers laughed and flew away.

Next day, in the early morning, the donkey drank all the dewdrops he could find on grass and started practising ardently. This became his routine in the days that followed but his voice never got better.

The donkey grew thin and weak. He could hardly walk or raise his voice. Still he didn't stop trying. A few days further down the line, he found himself unable to stand on his legs. He didn't even have the energy to lick the dewdrops on grass tips. Even then he continued with his efforts to sing, and before long, he lost lifebto his stupidity.