I’ve learned this about donkeys and some other animals as well. They move in predictable cycles. When they first see us, they are looking for food – cookies, carrots, an apple. Then they seek attention: brushing, combing, being spoken too. Then, there is a third cycle – they show affection. They approach us, bump us, nose us, and the way they say they love one another or us is to put their heads on our shoulders. It is wordless, yet it says so much. It is a connection to the natural world, to the spiritual world, to our history, to their penetrating sense of us. Fanny is speaking to Maria. They are moving in unison with one another.