The Asses of Balaam

The Asses of Balaam is a science fiction novella by Randal Garrett, first published in 1961, under the pen-name David Gordon. 

The remarkable characteristic of Balaam's ass was that it was more perceptive than its master. Sometimes a child is more perceptive—because more straightforward and logical—than an adult....

A twenty-four legged ecologist is alarmed by a subordinate's report of bipedal animals suddenly appearing and despoiling the surface of the planet. It must be a hoax.

Randall Garrett (1927-1987) was an American science fiction and fantasy author. He was a prolific contributor to Astounding and other science fiction magazines of the 1950s and 1960s. He instructed Robert Silverberg in the techniques of selling large quantities of action-adventure science fiction, and collaborated with him on two novels about Earth bringing civilization to an alien planet.