«حُمَارْ سَالِكْ وَلَا حْمَارْ حَرُونْ»

Taken at face value, a donkey that walks on when asked is worth more than one that stops and refuses to budge, because only the first actually carries its load. The image rewards the beast that serves and dismisses the one that will not.

In use, it favors something modest or low in standing that dependably does its job over something finer or more highly regarded whose single bad trait, such as obstinacy, cancels the benefit it could offer. Practical usefulness outweighs rank or reputation.

Say it when weighing a plain but dependable person, tool, or option against a more prestigious one that proves unreliable, to argue that willing service outweighs standing. Applied to people, the donkey comparison can sound belittling; it ranks usefulness, not personal worth.