WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE DOWN AND OUT
Once upon a time, a young donkey asked his grandpa, "How do I grow up just like you?"

"Oh, that's simple," Grandpa said. "All you have to do is shake it off and step up."

"What does that mean?" asked the youngster.

Grandpa said, "Let me tell you a story...

"When I was just about you age, I was out walking one day and I wasn't paying attention and I fell deep into an old abandoned well. I started braying and braying. Finally an old farmer came by and saw me in the well. I was scared to death. And then he left....I stayed in that well all night.

"The next morning he came back with a whole group of people, and they looked down at me. Some of them even laughed. Then the old farmer said, "The well's abandoned and that donkey isn't worth saving, so let's get to work.' And believe it or not, they started to shovel dirt into the well.

"Well, I panicked. I was going to be buried alive.

"After the first shovelfuls of dirt came down on me, I realized something. Every time dirt landed on my back, I could shake it off and step up! They kept shoveling, and I kept shaking it off and stepping up. This went on for some time.

" 'Shake it off and step up..shake it off and step up...shake it off and step up, 'I kept repeating to myself for encouragement. I fought the panic by shaking it off and stepping up. And it wasn't long before I stepped out of the well, exausted but triumphant.

"So no matter how difficult the situation, no matter how bad things get, no matter how much dirt gets dumped on you, just remember--shake it off and step up.