Martha Adams, age 7,.Charleston

What is the difference between a donkey and a mule?

The donkey rates as a special breed of the noble horse family. He has carried man.rs burdens for countless ages   trough often under protest. Man has not been too kind to this little horse with the big ears. He is a sturdy fellow, sure footed and content with rough rations. We tend to forget his good qualities and remember only that he sometimes refuses to be pushed.

The mule is a hybrid animal, a cross between a donkey and a horse, We cannot call a mule a he or a she, for mules very rarely can have foals. Usually a mules mother is a horse, the father is a donkey. When the mother is a donkey and the father a horses, the mule is sometimes called a hinney. Sometimes a hinney can have foals.

Her foals are like all mules. They are strong, sturdy, patient and sure footed, Also like all mules, they inherit some of the firm mindedness of the donkey.