Donkey, Ass, Mule

If you're like me, you've had this discussion dozens of times: what's the difference between a donkey, an ass, and a mule?

Wikipedia, as usual, clears up the problem.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donkey

Here's the executive summary:
Donkey is just a nice way of saying ass. They're animals in the horse family. People often think of donkeys as being small asses. A male ass is a Jack, a female is a Jenny.

A mule is the offspring of a male ass and female horse. A male horse and female ass produce a hinny.

Here's the formula:

♀ horse (mare)	+	♂ ass (Jack)	=	mule
♂ horse (stallion)	+	♀ ass (Jenny)	=	hinny

Any questions?