Don't You Have Any Donkeys In Your Country?

I thought that this short story was very humorous and fun to read. I really liked the style of writing that the author used. At first I was a little confused about who was saying what (the dialogue), but I soon became accustomed to the style and it grew on me. I particularly liked the part of the story where the peasant tells the two men the price of the donkey and then their little argument and bargaining that follows. When asked the price of the donkey, the peasant replied, "For you, ten thousand" (page 105). I can imagine the look of astonishment on the two men's faces when they hear the outrageous price for such an old donkey. 

Also, I like the section near the end where they don't end up getting the cloth, for the peasant won't sell it to them, where all along, they had assumed the cloth came with the donkey. Specifically what I am talking about is on page 106, the peasant says to the two  men "I can't give it to you, Mister. It's an heirloom from my father, that cloth. It's an heirloom handed down from my ancestors and forefathers. I can't give it to you." I had to look at this situation from both sides. My first instinct was to just agree with the peasant, knowing that I would not want to give away something of such sentimental value for money. But, after thinking a bit, I realized that I agree with both the peasant and the American. The American wanted something (the cloth) and would pay for it. I understand his frustration when the peasant was stubborn about the situation. But also, I understand why the peasant was stubborn about the cloth - because it is special to him. 

I really like the peasant as a character, because the character is very clear and humorous as well. He was stubborn and got the two men kind of frustrated, but I think that the argument involving the three of them made the story funny. I also thought that the translation from the American to the second man and then to the peasant was also funny in a way, because the peasant couldn't understand the American, and the American couldn't understand the peasant, so the poor other man had to be stuck in the middle, trying to sort the whole thing out - so everyone could understand. 

Another of my favorite parts in the story is where the peasant says "Hummh, so he doesn't like American donkeys, but he does Turkish donkeys. Well, what can I do? It's not my fault" (page 104). This passage, similar to many others in the story made me chuckle while reading. The peasant did not know that the American wanted the cloth on the donkey and only the cloth. The American thought that the donkey would come with the cloth, so he decided to buy the donkey. Then the peasant went on to describe all the problems with the donkey and then the title comes in to play around this section. ("Don't you have any donkeys in your country?")

I think that the author provides a clear image of the village with all of the archaeological digs around and with everything dug up and in disarray. It is also clear how the peasants have nowhere to farm and have nothing else to dig up, so they sell faux artifacts that they made, as opposed to authentic old ones that came from the ground. It is sad how the people have to do this to make a living. I must say, though, that the idea is very clever. In the story, it sounds like the peasants making the faux artifacts are very good at their trade and can easily fool tourists and archaeologists. 

I liked how the author had the current time at the beginning and then went into the story, which occurred in the past. It was kind of like a flashback, but the man was still telling the story. All in all, I enjoyed the story and I hope that we can read some more like this one soon, because I think that the material is interesting and entertaining. It is nice that we are reading some Middle Eastern literature for short stories as well, because I feel that since we're studying the Middle East in history class, reading things pertaining to the Middle East in english class helps our studies in history (at least it does for me). I like how there is a connection in learning material between the two classes.