A miller and his young son were driving their donkey to the market to sell. On the road, they met a group of girls, who laughed and exclaimed, "Did you ever see such a pair of fools? To be trudging along the dusty road when they might be riding!" The miller thought that made sense, so he made his son mount the donkey, and he walked at the side.
Then they met some old men who greeted them and said, "You'll spoil that son of yours, letting him ride while you toil along on foot! Make him walk, young lazybones!" The miller followed their advice, and took his son's place on the back of the donkey while the boy trudged along behind.
They had not gone far when they passed by a group of women and children, and the miller heard them say, "What a selfish old man! He himself rides in comfort, but lets his poor little boy follow on foot!" So he made his son get up behind him.
Further along the road, they met some travellers, who asked the miller whether the donkey was his own property or hired. He replied that it was his own, and that he was taking it to the market to sell. They said, "Good heavens! With a load like that, the poor animal will be so exhausted by the time it gets there that no one will look at him. You had better to carry it!". So they got off, tied the donkey’s legs together with a rope and slung it on a pole.
At last, they reached the town, carrying the donkey between them. This was so absurd a sight that people laughed at it, some even calling the father and son lunatics. Then they got to a bridge over the river, where the donkey frightened by the noise and his unusual situation, kicked and struggled till it broke the ropes that bound it, and fell into the water and was drowned. The unfortunate Miller, vexed and ashamed, made his way home again. In trying to please all, he had pleased none, and had even lost his donkey.
What did Miller do after he heard some women and children said that he was a selfish man?