God created the donkey and said
to him, "You will be a donkey. You
will work untiringly from sunrise
to sunset carrying burdens on
your back. You will eat grass, you
will have no intelligence and you
will live 50 years." The donkey
answered, "I will be a donkey, but
to live 50 years is much. Give me
only 20." God granted his wish.
God created the dog and said to
him, "You will guard the house of
Man. You will be his best friend.
You will eat the scraps that he
gives you and you will live 30
years. You will be a dog." The dog
answered, "Sir, to live 30 years is
too much. Give me only 15." God
granted his wish. God created the
monkey and said to him, "You will
swing from branch to branch
doing tricks. You will be amusing
and you will live 20 years. You will
be a monkey." The monkey
answered, "To live 20 years is too
much. Give me only 10." God
granted his wish. Finally god
created man, and said to him,
"You will be man, the only rational
creature on the face of earth. You
will use your intelligence to
become master over all the
animals. You will dominate the
world and you will live 20 years."
Man responded, "Sir, I will be a
man but to live only 20 years is
very little, give me the 30 years
that the donkey refused, the 15
years that the dog did not want
and the 10 years the monkey
refused. God granted man's
wish.... And since then... Man lives
20 years as a man, marries and
spends 30 years like a donkey,
working and carrying all the
burdens on his back. Then when
his children are grown... he lives
15 years like a dog, taking care of
the house and eating whatever is
given to him, so that when he is
old, he can retire and live 10 years
like a monkey, going from house
to house and from one son or
daughter to another, doing tricks
to amuse his grandchildren That's
LIFE
2