One day a farmer's donkey fell into an abandoned well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway; so it just wasn't worth it to him to try to retrieve the donkey.

He invited all his neighbours to come over and help him. They each grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. Realising what was happening, the donkey at first cried and wailed horribly. Then, a few shovelfuls later, he quieted down completely.

The farmer peered down into the well, and was astounded by what he saw. With every shovelful of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing some thing amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up on the new layer of dirt. As the farmer's neighbours continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.

Pretty soon, the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off, to the shock and astonishment of all the neighbours. Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the well is to not let it bury you, but to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone.

We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up!

And finally, the donkey gave the farmer who tried to bury him a good kicking. Which brings me to another moral for this story - When you try to cover your ass, it always comes back and gets you.

参考译文：

某日，一个农夫的驴子掉落进了一口深井。那头畜生悲悯地哀叫了好几小时，农夫实在想不出什么招数拯救它出来。最后，他认为，驴子也羸老了，那口枯井按说也需要填平，将自己的那头驴子掩埋其中也不算是亏了那头畜生。

于是，他请来乡亲邻居，铲脏土投入井里。这时，那驴子方始明白正在发生的事情，开始恐怖地嚎叫。不多时，使大家惊愕的是，井中的那头驴子居然平静了下来。铲掷了一会儿脏土，农夫朝井下望去，被自己的所见惊讶了。每一铲脏土击落在驴子的身上，它立即做一个令人惊异的运动——抖擞一下，将身上的泥土撒落，再踏上一步。随着邻居们铲起的脏土不停地投掷在驴子的身上，它不停地抖撒，一步一步地走近井口。

没过多少时间，那头驴子终于从井沿跳了出来，开始疾奔起来。在场的每个人一下子都惊呆了。

生活中总不免有人铲脏土撒泼在你身上，各种各样的脏土。逃离陷阱的诀窍，就是抖落脏土并踩上一步。每一次麻烦无不是你进步的垫脚石。只要我们不停脚步，永不放弃，就一定能从最深渊的井底爬出来。抖落脏土，上进一步！

那头驴子从井里爬出来之后，给了主人狠狠的几下，公平地回应了曾经试图埋葬它的农夫。

当你企图掩盖做错的事时它总能回来并逮住你。