[translated from Spanish]
God created the burro and said to him:
You will be a burro; you will work tirelessly from sun-up to
sun-down carrying burdens on your back, you will eat grass, you will
have no intelligence and you will live 50 years. You will be a burro.
The burro answered:
I will be a burro, but to live 50 years is too much. Give me
just 20 years.
And God granted it to him.
God created the dog and said to him:
You will be a dog; you will guard the houses of man and be his
best friend. You will eat the bones he gives you and you will live
25 years. You will be a dog.
The dog answered:
Lord, living 25 years is too much. Give me just 10 years.
And God granted it to him.
God created the monkey and said to him:
You will be a monkey; you will jump from branch to branch
making silly noises, you will be amusing and will live 20 years.
You will be the monkey.
The monkey answered:
Lord, living 20 years is too much, give me just 10 years.
And God granted it to him.
Finally, God created man and said to him:
You will be man, the only rational being on the face of the
earth. You will use your intelligence to rule over the animals,
you will have dominion over the earth, and you will live 20 years.
The man answered:
Lord, I will be a man, but 20 years is too short. Give me,
Lord, the 30 years the burro rejected, the 15 years the dog
didn’t want, and the 10 years the monkey turned down.
And God granted it to him.
Thus God did and since then, man lives 20 years as a man. Then he gets
married and lives 30 years as a burro, working from sun-up to sun-down
and carrying all the burdens on his shoulders. Then his children leave the
house and he lives 20 years as a dog, guarding the house, so that when
he gets old he can retire and live 10 years as a monkey, jumping from house
to house, child to child, and making silly noises for his grandchildren to
laugh at.
~~
Dr Bob Griffin, www.grif.net
1 cross + 3 nails = 4 given