The Donkeys

A man had two donkeys and wondered which one to put the lighter
weighing cotton on and which one to put the heavier weighing sugar on.
He decided to let the donkeys choose.  

The one donkey went over to the bag of cotton and nudged  it with his
nose, then he went over to the bag of sugar and nudges it. Then the
donkey went back to the bag of cotton and nudged it with his nose again.

The man reasoned that the donkey chose the bag of cotton and puts it on
the donkey. He then put the bag of sugar on the other donkey, and they
got on their way.  As they went along, the donkey with the sugar
struggled under its load.  

On the other hand, the donkey with the cotton was having little trouble
at all. Finally they came to the river, and look, the bridge was out!
The only way to get to the other side was to swim. What do you think
happened?

He felt as if his load was getting lighter! As he swam the
sugar began to dissolve, and the farther he swam, the lighter his load became.
Finally he reached the other side, wet, but only slightly worn from the
experience.

What about the donkey with the bag of cotton? As he swam
along, he felt his load was getting heavier and heavier. Well, as he
swam the cotton began to absorb the water. The more he swam, the heavier
the bag of cotton became. Exhausted and now overburdened, he sank
beneath the water, never to be seen again.

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