The Gate Did Not Need Widening

Brindle's Account

I have carried many things up the lane to the hillside dairy, but wooden cheese molds are especially cumbersome. These frames help shape cheese, and their corners poke out in surprising directions. That morning, Inez packed them into two baskets across my back. I carried them uphill without complaint, except for three perfectly reasonable pauses beside patches of clover. Then we reached the dairy gate. Something tapped against a post. The gate had become too narrow. Naturally, I stopped.

“Come along, Brindle,” Inez said. But I am not a sack of flour to be squeezed through an opening. I planted my hooves and gave her my most dignified stare. She checked the latch, then sat on the dairy step. Clearly, she needed time to understand the situation. I waited generously. Finally, I turned one ear toward the baskets. At last, she looked where I was pointing.

I let her rearrange the top mold, which she lifted and turned before sliding it lower. Then I walked through the gate with my head high. A good delivery donkey knows when to stand firm. Inez scratched my neck, so I believe she appreciated my guidance. I hope she remembers it when we bring the next load.

At the Dairy Gate

Inez had measured the gate before their first delivery. There was enough clearance for Brindle and both baskets, provided nothing stuck out sideways. Today, however, one wooden mold had worked loose on the uphill walk. Its corner touched the gatepost. Brindle stopped immediately. When Inez checked the latch and opened the gate as far as it would go, the donkey still refused to move. Making the opening wider would not solve the packing problem.

Inez felt a flicker of frustration, but pulling would not help. She sat on the dairy step to give them both a quiet minute. From that lower position, she spotted the projecting corner. Brindle happened to turn an ear just as she stood. She lifted the mold, rotated it, and tucked it securely beside the others. The baskets now had the same tidy shape they had started with.

Brindle remained reluctant until Inez stepped through the opening ahead of him. Then he followed, placing each hoof carefully. Inside the dairy yard, she scratched his neck. She was pleased that the molds had arrived undamaged and that she had found a simple solution. Brindle raised his chin like a parade leader. Inez smiled. To her, the delivery showed the value of patience and cooperation, not the need for a wider gate.