A Merchant and his Donkey

Once upon a time, there lived a merchant. He had a donkey named Alex. One beautiful spring morning, the merchant loaded his donkey with bags of salt to go to the nearby market so that he could sell them. The merchant and his donkey were walking along together. They had not walked far when suddenly they saw a river on the road.
"Keep walking, Alex. Do not slip into the river", the merchant told his donkey. Because of the slippery riverbank, Alex slipped and fell into the river. When he got up , Alex noticed that the bags of salt kept on his back had become lighter.
The merchant could do nothing, except return home where he again loaded his donkey with more bags of salt. As they reached the river, this time deliberately, the donkey fell into the river and wasted all the bags of salt on its back again.
The merchant had now realized his donkey’s trick. He then returned home again and loaded his donkey, this time with bags of sponges.
The foolish, tricky donkey again set on its way. On reaching the river he again slipped into the water. But instead of the bags becoming lighter, they became heavier.
The merchant laughed at him and said: “You foolish donkey, your trick has been discovered, you should know that those who are too clever sometimes are trapped because of their own plans.”