One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well.
The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, he decided. The animal was old. The well needed to be covered up anyway. It just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey.
He asked several neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.
The donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. The work continued.
Then there was silence.
The farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey would shake it off and take a step up.
As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up.
Eventually the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off.