The father, the son and the donkey
An old man went with his son and a donkey on the way to a nearby market place to sell his goods. The father was sitting on the donkey the boy led. "The poor boy," said an opposing man. "His short legs try to keep pace with the pace of the ass. How can one get so lazy on the ass when you see that the little child is running tired."
The father took this to heart, descended behind the next corner, and let the boy sit down. It was not long before a voice was heard: "Such an impertinence. Sit the little villain like a king on the donkey, while his poor old father walks alongside."
This hurt the boy and he asked the father to sit behind him on the ass. "Have you seen this before?" An old woman cried, "such an agony! The poor ass hangs his back, and the old and the young nothingness rest on him, the poor creature!"
The scoundrels looked at each other and, without saying a word, both descended from the donkey. As soon as they had walked a few steps beside the animal, a stranger was making fun of her: "I would not be so stupid. Why do you take the donkey for a walk, if he does not do anything, does not benefit you, and does not even carry one of you?"
The father pushed the donkey a handful of straw into his mouth and laid his hand on his son's shoulder. "Regardless of what we do," he said, "there is someone who does not agree. I think we need to know what we think is right."
"What ever you do, the people will always have something negative to say"