The Wonderful Stories by a Speeding Donkey

This is the pillar of European literature! - one would like to exclaim

after reading The Golden Ass by Apuleius1.
The work, written in colloquial and colorful language, and being
a conglomerate of incredible tales for the curious people,
is connected by the narrative of the main character - Lucius, who,
as a result of magical experiments, turns into a donkey.

The fortunes and misfortunes of the donkey

(passing from one owner to another) take place
before two millennia in Greece and Rome. Lucius presents us
an approximate picture of the society of the Roman state -
distorted obviously by the requirements of the fantastic,
picaresque saga.

Such goods always sell well - readers are hungry for miraculous tales,
so it is no wonder that the Metamorphoses have survived
in its entirety to our times (the myth of Cupid and Psyche
even entered European art as a separate phenomenon).

Surprisingly, this string of facetious stories,

donated to us by a panting donkey, can serve missionary purposes.
Lucius recovers the human form (and even becomes a spiritual dignitary)
due to one of the popular cults in Rome.

MMXVII

1 Apuleius (c. 124after 170 CE) is one of the key Latin writers of the 2nd century CE. He is best known for
his novel Metamorphoses or The Golden Ass.