Fools and Donkeys

I stumbled upon this today and I thought it was too good not to share. I found it here as part of a children’s (?) book from 1881. 

Why does an Ass

Prefer thistles to grass?

Is a puzzle to many no doubt;

But the answer comes swift, as a flash from the skies,

And if it’s not witty it is not unwise:-

The brute turns away with contempt from the grass,

For the plain simple reason–because he’s an ass.

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Why does not the fool prefer virtue to vice?

When one is so vile the other so nice.

The answer we find, by the very same rule.

The fool prefers vice, just because he’s a fool.