One day, the king decided to go hunting. Before leaving, he asked his weather minister about the forecast. With great confidence, the minister replied, "Your Majesty! The weather is excellent. There's no chance of rain for several days. You may go hunting without any worry."
The king felt satisfied and set out for the forest with his entourage.
On the way, they met a potter who respectfully greeted the king and said, "May your majesty's fortune rise high! But where are you going in this weather?"
Proudly, the king replied, "I'm going hunting."
The potter humbly said, "Your Majesty, the weather will soon turn bad. There's a strong chance of heavy rain."
Hearing this, the king grew angry. "You, a pot-maker, what do you know about the weather? My minister said it will be clear and pleasant, and you dare to disagree?" He immediately ordered one of his guards to give the poor potter two hard slaps. The order was carried out at once, and the potter was left standing aside, bruised and silent.
The king continued his journey — but soon dark clouds gathered, thunder roared, and rain poured down in torrents. The entire hunting trip was ruined, and the king and his men returned to the palace drenched and miserable.
Back at the palace, the king made two decisions: First, he dismissed the useless weather minister. Second, he summoned the potter to court, rewarded him generously, and said, "We want to appoint you as our new Minister of Meteorology."
The potter grew nervous and said, "Your Majesty, I am an uneducated man. I only know how to make pots, bake them in a kiln, and sell them in the market. I know nothing about weather science. But I do have one bit of experience: whenever my donkey lowers its ears and lets them hang down, it always rains afterward. My donkey has never been wrong."
The king burst into laughter and declared, "From today onward, our Minister of Meteorology will not be the potter — but his donkey!"
The historian writes: The tradition of appointing donkeys as ministers actually began that very day — and, in one form or another, continues to this day.