This movement depicts a pianist practicing on a piano loaded onto a float. The score contains a note from the publisher (Jacques Durand), not the composer, stating "to imitate the clumsy playing of a beginner," which the composer likely also intended. As mentioned in the composer's biographical overview, Saint-Saëns himself was an active pianist, making this, in a sense, a form of self-deprecating humor. It vividly portrays the daily life of a pitiable performer, constantly engaged in mundane basic practice in the shadow of glamorous stages. While the content itself is a very straightforward joke, this piece is fundamentally closely linked to the motivation behind the creation of The Carnival of the Animals.  

Originally, this work was conceived by Saint-Saëns for the students of the Niedermeyer School of Religious Music during his tenure as a piano teacher there (1861–1865), and these pitiable "Pianists" were none other than the students of the Niedermeyer School. To illustrate just how pitiable they were, reading the following quote from the memoirs of composer Henri Büsser, who later studied at the same school, will vividly bring the scene to life: "When I entered the large rectangular (practice) room, I was utterly astonished. Fifteen upright pianos were lined up against the wall, each playing a different piece of music simultaneously. It was a tremendous roar that did not cease even when we entered the room. However, at a gesture of command from the principal, the fifteen pianists suddenly stopped. Their hyper-polytonal symphony, in which Bach, Beethoven, and Mozart noisily coexisted, gradually ceased at intervals." (Henri Büsser, translated and edited by Tomojiro Ikeuchi, Paris Gakudan 70-nen [70 Years of the Parisian Music Scene], Ongaku no Tomo Sha, 1966). The reason two pianos are required in The Carnival of the Animals is certainly to achieve a rich sound in the chamber ensemble, but it is also considered a major factor that multiple pianos were necessary to realize the "Pianists" joke, inspired by this "hyper-polytonal" atmosphere. Furthermore, knowing this compositional background, if one re-examines "Asses (Wild Donkeys)" again, it can be imagined as a scene where innocent students were having a speed-playing competition together in a communal practice room.