God created the donkey &
said to him : “
You will work unceasingly from sunrise to sunset
carrying burdens
on your back. You will eat grass, you will have no
intelligence &
you will live 50 years.
You will be a donkey. ” The donkey answered: “
I will be a donkey,
but to live 50 years is too much. Give me only
20 years. God granted his
wish.
God created the dog and said to
him: “You will be a dog. ” 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 25 years. You will be a dog.
” The dog answered: “
Sir, to live 25 years is too much, you give me
only 10 years. God
granted his wish. God created the Monkey and said to
him: ” You will
be a monkey. ” 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: ” Sir, to live 20 years is too
much
, you give me only 10 years. God granted his wish.
Finally God
created the man and said to him: ” You will be a man, the
only
rational creature on the face of the earth. ” You will use your

intelligence to become master over all 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 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 his wish. And since then, man lives
20
years as a man, he marries and spend 30 years like a donkey,
working and
carrying all the burdens on his back. Then when his
children are gone,
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,
from one son or
daughter to another, doing tricks to amuse
his grandchildren.