It wasn't long before Emily, a donkey in a white sleeveless-sundress with floral print named Alison and a third donkey named Stephanie who wore a red long-sleeved blouse were the only ones left.
The man seemed to have tired of waiting for the group to start braying. He boarded the ferry in which his men were loading the other donkeys with a promise that he’d soon return and expected to come back to three braying donkeys.
A chill went through Emily. She wasn't sure which option was scarier, finally losing the ability to speak or facing whatever fate the man intended for those who didn't lose the ability to speak.
Being alone like this if nothing else, gave Emily, Alison and Stephanie some privacy.
"Emily, what's going to happen to us?" Alison asked.
"I don't know," Emily said.
Emily noticed Stephanie sniffing her.
"Wow, you even smell like a donkey," Stephanie said.
Emily would have blushed if she still could.
"I know it's kinda bad but I can't help it," Emily said. "I'd take a bath if I could but none of us can. I guess we'll have to get used to it."
"It's not so bad," Stephanie said.
"It's just part of being donkeys I guess," Emily said with grin.
"Well, I don't wanna be stinky!" Alison said.
Emily held out a fore hoof.
"Alison, we have hooves! It's not like we have hands and can use soap or something. We're only gonna get baths if a human gives us a bath," Emily said.
Alison hung her ears.
"I don't wanna be a donkey," Alison said. "We gotta find a way to change back! We can change back, right?"
"I don't know if we can but I want to try and find a way too," Emily said. "I don't want to be stuck like this either."
Emily looked at Alison. While she wouldn't wish this on anyone, she was glad she wasn't facing this alone. They appeared a fair bit younger than Emily. Alison sounded about eight and Stephanie, ten. Emily knew she should have known better than to come here. She had less of an excuse for being in her current form then them. At least they could argue that they were just kids.
"Being a donkey can't be so bad. Real donkeys seem to be okay with it," Stephanie said.
"They've never been humans," Emily said. "Being donkeys seems normal to them."
"Yeah, I guess so," Stephanie said. "But, come on, unless they're mean to us, it can't be so bad. At least we don't have to go to school."
Emily nodded. "If they're not mean to us then maybe it'll be okay. But, do you really want to stay this way forever?"
Stephanie seemed to think about it for a few moments.
"Well, I didn't think I wanted to be a donkey when I grew up. But, it doesn't seem so bad now. So, maybe being a donkey is okay for now," Stephanie said.
"Even if I gotta be a donkey, I still wanna gonna home to my Momma," Alison said.
"Even if it means she'll know what you did?" Emily asked.
"What do you mean?" Alison asked.
"We're donkeys because we were bad! If we go home as donkeys and tell people who we are, they're gonna know," Emily said.
"But if we never go home, I'll never see my momma again," Alison said.
"I think I'd rather go home and get into trouble then never go home," Stephanie said.
Emily never considered herself a leader. However, it was clear that Alison and Stephanie were looking to Emily for advice and a solution to their situation.
"You're right, girls," Emily said. "We should try to find a way home."
"Even if we get home, I really do wanna stay like this for now," Stephanie asked. "Donkeys are pretty swell. It might be fun to hang out with them as a donkey."
"For you maybe but I wanna be a girl again," Alison said.
"Maybe being donkeys won't be so bad if we get used to it but being donkeys will be terrible if they take us somewhere bad," Emily said.
In reality, Emily didn't want to get used to it. On the other hand, Emily didn't want to be miserable for however long they were going to be like this, especially if there was no going back.
"Then we should escape so they can't do that," Stephanie said.
Alison was watching Emily and Stephanie talk. Her expression betrayed how worried and frightened she was.
"I don't want to start liking being a donkey so much that I don't want to go back if I can," Emily said.
Stephanie seemed to want to say something but Emily finished her thought that she now realized she needed to elaborate on.
"I guess if we hate it, it will probably seem a lot worse," Emily said.
Alison cocked her head.
"Like how my Momma made me wear this dress?" Alison asked. "I didn't want to wear it but after I wore it for a while, it seemed okay."
"Sort of like that," Stephanie said.
"Or like my older brother having a get a job when he didn't want to," Alison said. "He didn't like it at first but now he says that there's some good stuff about it and it isn't so bad."
Stephanie nodded. "Yeah, like that. Turning into donkeys may seem like a drag but you girls can try to find stuff you can like about it."
"Just as long as we don't start liking it so much that we don't wanna go back," Emily said.
"Maybe I don't want to stay this way forever. But I want a vacation from having to go to school and studying", Stephanie snorted.
Alison grinned. "What's that sound you made with your nose? It's funny! Sorry for laughing at ya Stephanie but I can't help it."
Stephanie grinned. "That's okay Alison, I like makin' people laugh."
She snorted several more times, much to Alison's amusement.
"Girls, before we laugh at this too much, remember that the man turned us into donkeys because he wants to sell us to people that will make us work," Emily said.
Alison nodded. "Then we gotta escape and get our human forms back so he doesn't win!"
"Or at least get somewhere that won't make us do a lot of work," Stephanie said.
"I'll think of something " Emily said.
"So, how come we can still talk? Everyone else starting braying but us," Stephanie said.
"I don't know," Emily said. "Maybe it means we're special."
"Wait, I thought of something. What about the other kids? We gotta help them too," Alison said.
"Yeah, I can't forget my friends," Stephanie said.
Emily wondered what they could do. If she could still talk, she could tell the cops what the Coachman was doing. They would know what to do or could try to get help.
"We gotta get outta here somehow," Alison said. "Maybe we can swim back home?"
"But how do we swim?" Stephanie asked. "And how do we escape?"
"I said I'll try and think of something and I meant it," Emily said.
Alison and Stephanie nodded.
Before that however, all three realized how tried they were. The night on Pleasure Island coupled with the trauma of turning into donkeys was exhausting. They all had to admit they needed sleep. It was soon after that all three lay down and fell asleep.