The store clerk called the cops and they took you away quickly, slipping a rope around your neck. You kicked and brayed some more but you only received slaps and blows to make you shut up and stop being so difficult. The police station naturally did not know what to do with you and it would have been ridiculous to call the pound so they called a nearby petting zoo. The owner of the zoo was delighted to get a young male donkey for free on the spot and yes, he could come right away.
The owner of the petting zoo knew what he was doing, clearly and expertly put a bit and bridle on you and dragged to a special wagon outside. Before you knew it, you were off, much to the relief of the policemen, happy to have you off their hands.
When you arrived at the petting zoo, you could not stop braying. But your new owner just forced you into a stall and sighed numerous times. He left you there and indeed after a while you stopped your screams. The other stalls were empty but you could hear other animals answering you from afar. Goats, sheep and other donkeys. They were in their own enclosures, with their own larger stalls and with plenty of grass and space. The stalls were for the animals that were unruly, waiting for the vet or generally unfit to be with the others. Tired by your own outbursts, you fell asleep before you knew it, standing on your four legs. And yet it felt very much natural.
"So? What do you think?"
"He healthy and cute. Perfect for the zoo. A real darling. He could even be used for breeding. Look at his soft coat of hair and firm muscles! But he's too agitated to be used as a riding animal. Not as yet, at least. Too bad. As a free donkey, it would have made a fine extra flow of cash. Kids like the riding animals. The donkeys like the ponies."
"My thoughts exactly. I was just wandering what to do with him, nervous as he is. I wonder what happened to him? He was found in the middle of the city, after all."
"Odd. But let's set him in the small paddock away from the others. If he reacts well, we can introduce them to the others. And from there, we can see how he fares with being pat and mounted."
"Good plan. Nothing a few sugar cubes and carrots won't help," the owner of the zoo laughed jovially.
His assistant with whom he was conversing tugged you away and left you in a little enclosure. You had stopped braying so much. After all, it was useless. You knew that perfectly well by now. You had eaten some oats but you had refused the hay and grass. You weren't ready to sink that low! It had already ben humiliating enough to urinate in the stall. You'd made sure to do it early in the morning, so that no one would hear. No one human, at least. How would you do the other humiliating function? Not to mention smelling it and being near it? Until someone else came to pick it up and cleaned it? Ugh! And what was that part about breeding? No thanks! You never saw jenny-asses as sexy and that had not changed! As for being ridden by little kids... What a bore! Carrying stupid brats, crying and bouncing on your back over and over again? Not in a million years! As you let your mind drift to these thoughts, your body and instincts took over and you realized you were about to munch on a clump of grass. You stopped yourself just in time. Yuck! You were about to eat grass! Even if it smelled like a delicious salad and the leaves of plants looked simply scrumptious and... No! You shook your head violently. You must not start to think like a donkey! Where were the sugar cubes promised? Or carrots, even? At least these were fit for people as well.
So you waited, hoping to remain human mentally in order to find a way out of this mess. You did not want to stay a donkey all of your life! All because of a stupid wish! It was not even your fault! Hopefully you would not get bored too much...