原文：

A donkey, heavily loaded down, panted to a horse that was lightly laden :"Can you help me carry some of my load ? It is nothing for you but is a big relief for me ."

"Why should I do that for you ? I am happy with my light load," said the horse, scowlingly. Soon after, the donkey died of exhaustion. The master transferred everything from the back of the donkey onto the horse, which now deeply regretted its action.

An inflated ego blinds us to the fact that we are all living together on the same boat. The fortunes of other affects our well-being. The misfortune of others does not bring us happiness. On the contrary, helping others is in fact, helping ourselves.

译文：

一头驮着沉重货物的驴，气喘吁吁地请求只驮了一点货物的马：“帮我驮点东西吧。对你来说，这不算什么；可对我来说，却可以减轻不少负担。”

马不高兴地回答：“你凭什么让我帮你驮东西，我乐得轻松呢。” 不久，驴累死了。主人将驴背上的所有货物全部加在马背上，马懊悔不已。

膨胀的自我使我们忽略了一个基本事实，那就是：我们同在生活这条大船上，别人的好坏与我们休戚相关。别人的不幸不能给我们带来快乐，相反，在帮助别人的时候，其实也是在帮助我们自己。