Hee-Haw!
Once upon a time in rural Spain, the donkey was the king of the road. It would carry or pull anything, from a person, to a cart with a towering cargo of grass. Every household owned a donkey. Almost every household would treat it better than it treated the dog. It was another friend, and one of the most important members of the farm. Those days have disappeared, and now the donkey is in danger of extinction.
I still remember coming on vacation as a child, and my uncle sitting me atop their donkey. I remember holding on for dear life as the donkey began to move, hoping not to fall off. I also thought I weighed too much for the animal. Until I saw how much grass my uncle would load onto the arrieiros. This was a type of metal saddle that went on the donkey's back, and had two wings that unfolded on the sides, to be able to hold cargo. Some donkeys that I've seen in my childhood made me understand the saying, "traballar como un burro" (work like a donkey).
My in-laws had a donkey that spent so many years with them, it learned to understand names. My mother-in-law would take it out of the stable, get it ready, and then tell it to go to a certain field. (All fields have names. Everyone knows exactly where a field is by its name.) The donkey would start walking. By the time my mother-in-law arrived at the field, the donkey would be there, waiting. The family cried when it died of old age.
Now, however, donkeys have disappeared. Now there are tractors to do the work in the fields, and carry even larger cargoes than a donkey. The last time I saw a donkey must have been a year ago, being led down a lane by an old man who must not have wanted anything to do with learning how to drive a tractor. Their numbers have been so reduced, that an association has been founded to collect unwanted donkeys and let them live out their lives on a farm. Various other groups in different parts of Spain have appeared to look out for the donkeys that used to do the heavy work in the villages. They're quickly becoming a relic of the past.
I still remember coming on vacation as a child, and my uncle sitting me atop their donkey. I remember holding on for dear life as the donkey began to move, hoping not to fall off. I also thought I weighed too much for the animal. Until I saw how much grass my uncle would load onto the arrieiros. This was a type of metal saddle that went on the donkey's back, and had two wings that unfolded on the sides, to be able to hold cargo. Some donkeys that I've seen in my childhood made me understand the saying, "traballar como un burro" (work like a donkey).
My in-laws had a donkey that spent so many years with them, it learned to understand names. My mother-in-law would take it out of the stable, get it ready, and then tell it to go to a certain field. (All fields have names. Everyone knows exactly where a field is by its name.) The donkey would start walking. By the time my mother-in-law arrived at the field, the donkey would be there, waiting. The family cried when it died of old age.
Now, however, donkeys have disappeared. Now there are tractors to do the work in the fields, and carry even larger cargoes than a donkey. The last time I saw a donkey must have been a year ago, being led down a lane by an old man who must not have wanted anything to do with learning how to drive a tractor. Their numbers have been so reduced, that an association has been founded to collect unwanted donkeys and let them live out their lives on a farm. Various other groups in different parts of Spain have appeared to look out for the donkeys that used to do the heavy work in the villages. They're quickly becoming a relic of the past.
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| Once upon a time. |
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