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.