The Donkey King

When the ruler of Azad City suddenly renounces the throne, a down-on-his-luck donkey wins the nations first election, and is crowned The Donkey King. The Donkey King chronicles the rise to power of a donkey who becomes king in a country where humans are traditionally in charge. It also tells of his friendship with a poor farmer’s boy who becomes his personal aide-de-camp and of their struggles to work together for the common good.

Filled with satire and humor, this story is more than it appears. While it was originally written as an allegory to poke fun at the politics in my country, I’ve started to see parallels between what happens in this story and the world around us. Through these parallels, I’m beginning to think that we can learn a lot about what it means to be human by looking at how a donkey deals with his new world.

When the ruler of Azad City suddenly renounces the throne, a down-on-his-luck donkey is elected to replace him. In his new position he must learn to deal with the political and economic challenges of being a leader in a modern city, while also keeping his family fed and safe.

Dalibor (pronounced dah-lee-BOHR) is an unusual man. He’s independent and hardworking, as well as an extremely gifted animal trainer. When he was younger, he used his talents to train the donkeys of Azad City, until the palace caught on to what he was doing and put a stop to it. Now Dalibor makes a living selling watermelons that he grows in his backyard or through performing odd jobs for people around town. He’s content with this simple life—he has a loving wife and two beautiful children who adore him—but there’s one thing missing: Dalibor has always dreamed of being more than just an ordinary man.