Dancing for the Donkey
Simcha
One cold winter day, Rav Nosson Adler was traveling in a wagon with his talmid, the Chasam Sofer. The horses were struggling through deep snow when one of them suddenly collapsed and died. The second horse was too weak to pull the wagon alone, so the driver had no choice but to walk to the nearest village for another horse. The two passengers waited in the wagon.
After a while the driver returned, leading a donkey. When Rav Nosson saw it, he climbed down from the wagon and began to dance happily in the snow. "Rebbe," asked the Chasam Sofer, "why are you so happy?"
"Do you not see?" said Rav Nosson. "The driver has brought a donkey in place of a horse. Who would ever have imagined that I would merit to fulfill the mitzvah of 'Do not plow with an ox and a donkey together'? At home in Frankfurt I never dreamed I would have the chance. Now, Boruch Hashem, I have merited it, and I am full of joy."
The two passengers then told the driver to take the donkey back, and he returned with a horse in its place.