Ass appreciation

A look at donkeys, literary, historical, and real.

Even the way they chew, and this is a near constant activity, produces a sound that’s oddly soothing.

“I find them to be a constant reminder that what is important is right now, this minute,” says Pady, whose farm is home to 59 otherwise unwanted donkeys. “They live in the moment.”

Donkeys are, in a sense, the yoga teachers of the equine world, all serene calmness. They’re also the barnyard egalitarians, not much given to the hierarchical ways of horses and mules. Nor are they quick to flight when startled, the way horses can be. Donkeys will just stop dead in their tracks, try to figure out what’s going on before (eventually) settling on a course of action. Or not.

“Humans call it stubborn,” says Pady. “I call it common sense.”