The Ass and Its Shadow

The Ass and Its Shadow is a classic fable by Aesop that tells the story of a traveling ass (donkey) who gets into a dispute with its owner over the ass's shadow. The quarrel serves as a metaphorical lesson on the absurdity and futility of fighting over trivial and insignificant matters. The fable highlights themes of human folly, misplaced values, and the importance of common sense.

• Children

								
A Traveler had hired an Ass to carry him to a distant part of the
country. The owner of the Ass went with the Traveler, walking
beside him to drive the Ass and point out the way.

The road led across a treeless plain where the Sun beat down
fiercely. So intense did the heat become, that the Traveler at
last decided to stop for a rest, and as there was no other shade
to be found, the Traveler sat down in the shadow of the Ass.

Now the heat had affected the Driver as much as it had the
Traveler, and even more, for he had been walking. Wishing also to
rest in the shade cast by the Ass, he began to quarrel with the
Traveler, saying he had hired the Ass and not the shadow it cast.

The two soon came to blows, and while they were fighting, the Ass
took to its heels.

In quarreling about the shadow we often lose the substance.
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