The Thinking Donkey

The Wisdom of Harold

‘It’s true, I carry man’s burdens, but burdens are easy to carry for people when you love them.

And if I, a donkey, can so easily carry the burdens of men out of love… then how much more would God the Lord of everything be able to love men, too.’

What you need to know:

Harold, the thinking donkey, is a thoughtful story about resisting injustices and being kind to others. An important message is how moral attitudes are conveyed with the knowledge and use of a wide vocabulary, and therefore of how vital the importance of reading is becoming in a world of emoji mobile dialogue and poor literacy.

Young minds can be easily influenced, and persuaded about many things, but sometimes they need to resist the persuasion of peers trying to take advantage of any intolerance leading them into quick judgements, for by encouraging their tolerance they cannot be so easily persuaded, and will begin learning to think for themselves.

J. M. Lee is an analyst, thinker, writer and historian. The author of three screenplays which were written once he had retired from running his own company, he has also written a short novel now out of print.

Following his retirement, he began filling his time by constructing super-detailed models of various kinds of aeroplane as a way of alleviating the regret of having to stop flying. He involved himself in charitable pursuits in air sports like parachuting and aerobatics, the gains of which were donated to charities, including a local children’s hospital.