Maria sits down low, at the donkey’s eye level. She sings, talks in a soft and sing-song voice, is still. They love to be groomed by her, they gather around her in a silent circle, bumping against her, waiting their turn. If they get impatient – Fanny especially – they will nudge her with their noses, poke her with their heads, bump her with their bodies to get her to pay attention to them. She opens up before them, shows her feelings, and they sniff them, soak them up, respond to them. A mysterious and beautiful thing.