1) What is the purpose of the story, as far as the storyteller is concerned? What is he or she trying to accomplish? 

The purpose of the story is to warn. The storyteller is concerned about sending his daughter to King Shahrayar because she will be killed on the second day. Therefore he tried to use The tale of the ox and the donkey to warn her about her thought of meeting King Shahrayar to stop him from killing anymore women. In the tale, the Donkey advised the Ox to act different than usual so the Ox can relax and will not have to work as much. However, the Donkey miscalculated, it ends up doing all the work for the Ox because the Ox refused to work based on the Donkey’s suggestion. The storyteller is trying to warn his daughter, if she has miscalculated, she will encounter similar situation as the Donkey. She will be in trouble, in this case, it is death.

2) What, if any, is the lesson that the listener(s) take away from the story? 

If there is any lesson that the listener can take away from the story, it is understanding that  she might not be completely correct in her calculation. Even if she is smart, like the Donkey at the beginning. She will be in danger when she gets herself involve in the situation, like when the Donkey involved itself with the Ox’s trouble. If she has miscalculated her plan when she meets the King, she will be killed by the king.