The Little Donkey Who Counted the Stars

  From the day he was born, Freddy lived on a vast ranch where all the animals roamed free. Along with the other youngsters, he spent his days wandering about in friendly company, paying little attention either to the grown-up residents of the ranch or to the people who worked there. Many of the young animals didn’t even go to school, but the little donkey Freddy loved studying and never missed a lesson.
  The youngsters were taught by old Billy Goat Bob, who was half-blind and a bit hard of hearing. Bob was very fond of Freddy for his cheerful nature and his loud, ringing voice —  though Freddy was certainly not the brightest student in the class. The smartest were the twin brothers Oink and Snort; no sooner would old Bob finish asking a question than Oink and Snort would already be grunting the correct answer in unison.
  Freddy loved arithmetic more than anything else, even though it was far from the most important subject in the curriculum. The reason was simple: secretly, for a long time now, Freddy had dreamed of counting all the stars in the sky, and for that one had to know arithmetic very well. Oink and Snort knew their arithmetic too, but they never looked up at the sky and always laughed at Freddy whenever he lifted his head toward the stars.
  The ranch was enormous and ended at a rocky plateau, beyond which lay a deep precipice. People—guests of the ranch — were especially fond of this place. On Sundays they arrived in crowds and invariably stood right at the very edge of the cliff.
  The little donkey hated those days. The guests were noisy and ill-mannered. They poked their noses everywhere and tried to feed the ranch animals all kinds of inorganic junk. Only Oink and Snort loved hanging around the visitors and happily gobbled up whatever they were given.
  That Sunday was no exception. School was, of course, canceled, and from early morning Freddy didn’t know what to do with himself. Wherever he tried to hide, the guests would find him and attempt to pet him. For some reason, they were convinced he should enjoy it immensely.
  ortunately, by midday black clouds gathered and rain began to fall.
The guests vanished as if washed away, and by evening, when little donkey Freddy went out onto his beloved rocky plateau, there was a huge puddle in its center, brightly reflecting the stars.
  “Here I can count them!” Freddy rejoiced. “I must hurry while they’re all still here!”
  That night, after the rain, the air was sweet and fresh. The ranch slept peacefully; only the chirring of cicadas could be heard, along with some rustling in the chicken coop.
  That night, Freddy dreamed of stars.