On the first day,
God created the dog and said, sit all day by the door of your house
and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this I will give
you a life span of twenty years.
The dog said, "That's a long time to be
barking. How about only ten years and I'll give you back the other ten?"
And God said that it was good.
On the second day, God created the monkey
and said, "Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh.. For
this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span."
The monkey said, "Monkey tricks for twenty
years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back
ten like the dog did?"
And God again said that it was good.
On the third day, God created the cow and said, "You must go into the
field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have
calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will
give you a life span of sixty years."
The cow said, "That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for
sixty years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?"
And God agreed it was good.
On the fourth day, God created humans and said, "Eat, sleep, play,
marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty years."
But the human said, "Only twenty years?
Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the
ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes
eighty, okay?"
"Okay," said God,
"You asked for it."
So that is why for our first twenty years,
we eat, sleep, play and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty years, we
slave in the sun to support our family. For the next ten years, we do
monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren. And for the last ten
years, we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.
Life has now been explained to you.
There is no need to thank me for this valuable information. I'm doing
it as a public service. If you are looking for me I will be on the
front porch.