Spanish views from a small town

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 vacat ion as a child, and my uncle sitting me atop their donk ey. I remember holding on for dear l ife as the donkey began to move, hopin g not t o 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 don key's ba ck, and had two w ings that un fo lded on the sides, to be ab le 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...