The farmhands, Sam and Hiram, were glad the work day was almost at the end. They made one last check at the barn to dole out food and water, but when they rounded a corner they witnessed three jackasses. Two of the donkeys waged determined warfare while the third, the farm's jenny, patiently bided her time.
Five minutes earlier, in the very process of mounting the willing jenny, the other jack had appeared out of nowhere and attacked you. Viciously. He had inflicted a series of savage bites before you even knew what was happening. The tip of your left ear continued to stream a trickle of blood. To say the least, the other jack had not been pleased to find you in his territory and about to mount what he regarded as his jenny.
"The hell?" Sam said and scratched his bare chest. "Ham, did we get a new jack?"
Although named Hiram, everyone had always referred to the young farmhand as Ham. When they both began working on the farm together, most people enjoyed referring to the two hands as Sam and Ham.
Ham watched the one-sided asinine conflict. One of the jacks kept trying to break free, but the other continued to bite along the other jack's neck, ears, and withers. "He ain't said nothing to me about it."
You brayed in exasperation. "Do something! This jackass is crazy!"
You felt teeth grab your scruffy mane and tug.
Your braying only seemed to intensify the other jack's assault. He produced his own ugly, harsh brays, adding to the cacophony as Sam and Ham intervened to break up the fighting animals. The moment Ham grabbed your rope bridal, any and all resistance disappeared instantly.
"This is probably the guy we found in the back pasture earlier," he said as he led you with one hand on the bridle.
"What should we do with it?" Sam asked as he held the other animal's bridle in a bid to calm it.
"It?" You brayed indignantly. To be referred to as an it by these cretins boiled your blood.
"They'll probably just keep fighting if we leave them free," Ham remarked.
"Just some nips," Sam said, looking at the savaged tip of your ear. "They'll have to work it out of their system eventually if this guy's staying around."
You couldn't let them cage you in one of the barn stalls again. In six or so hours, it would be midnight and you'd be able, technically, to swap back with the donkey who had stolen your life. If they locked you in a stall until morning, you'd have only a few hours to accomplish your plan before noon tomorrow would see you permanently reduced to life as a damn donkey.
You forced yourself to stop braying in order to lower the level of discord on display in the barnyard.
"I say we just leave them out like always," Ham said. "We can check with the boss in the morning about what he wants done with it." He looked right at you as he spoke, making the word "it" resonate with you.
As soon as Ham released the other jack, it took advantage of your forced restraint to approach the jenny and in front of all assemble, he mounted her.
Your own erection had long subsided and, once Sam let go of your bridle, you trotted away from the barnyard at some speed. For some reason, this struck the hand as amusing. "Guess it's gonna go lick its wounds," he said of your submissive behavior. To them, it must have looked like the submissive jack being eager to avoid more confrontation.
You did turn back once when some excited brays drew your attention over to the jenny and the other jack, now with his front legs sprawled across her as he thrust valiantly while keeping his hind legs planted on the ground. The two hands took a break from work to watch.
You turned away in disgust. That could have been you thrusting wildly into the jenny. Your instincts had nearly driven you to it. You'd need to keep better rein on those instincts until you could succeed at your plan.
You turned your head from the show and kept walking away from the scene. You didn't want Ham or Sam changing their minds and placing you inside a stall. Their lack of concern about your wandering off did warn you that they obviously considered the fenced farm as escape-proof. You probably couldn't count on one of them forgetfully leaving a gate open.