An Ass was being driven down a mountain road, and after jogging along for a while sensibly enough he suddenly quitted the track and rushed to the edge of a precipice. He was just about to leap over the edge when his Driver caught hold of his tail and did his best to pull him back: but pull as he might he couldn't get the Ass to budge from the brink. At last he gave up, crying, “All right, then, get to the bottom your own way; but it's the way to sudden death, as you'll find out quick enough.”
有一头驴被赶着走在山路上，他很听话地走了一阵子之后，突然间放弃正路，急匆匆地奔向了悬崖的边缘。他正准备跳下去的时候，赶驴的人拉住了他的尾巴，用尽力气要把他拉回来，但是却没有办法让驴离开悬崖边。最后他放弃了，说：“好吧，现在你顺着你的路走到头吧，那可是一条速死的路，你很快就会发现的。”