Finally the farmer decided the animal was too old and the well needed to be covered anyway.  It just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. So the farmer decided to invite all of his neighbors to come over and help him.

At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone's amazement, he calmed down. A few shovel loads later the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw!

With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!

Moral of the Story:

Life is going to shovel a lot of dirt on you - all kinds of dirt. The trick is to getting out of the well is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone. We can get out of the deepest wells by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!