On the first day, God created the dog and said, “Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at everyone who comes in or walks past. For that, I’ll give you a life span of twenty years.”
The dog said, “That’s a lot of years of barking, How about I give you ten back?”

God agreed.

On the second day, God created the monkey and said, “Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this I will give you a life span of twenty years.”

The monkey said, “Monkey tricks for twenty years? That’s a long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the dog?”

God agreed.

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 give you a life span of sixty years.”

The cow said, That’s a tough life for sixty years, How about I give you forty back and settle for twenty?”

God agreed.

On the fourth day, God created man and said, “Eat, sleep, play, marry, and enjoy your life. For this, I give you a life span of twenty years.”

But man said, “Only twenty years? What about giving me the cow’s forty, the monkey’s ten, and the dog’s ten that they all gave back, okay ? That’s eighty, right?”

“All right,” said God, “you asked for it.”

So that is why for the first twenty years of our life, we eat, sleep, and enjoy ourselves. For the next forty, we slave to support our families. The next ten are spent doing monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren, and the last ten we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.

Such is life.

*Hat tip tp Dayton Ward