When the Lord God created the world, a man appeared to him:
- Listen, Lord! You created me, so tell me: how long will I live, how will I eat, what am I supposed to do?
God answered him:
“I have assigned thirty years to your life.” And you will eat whatever your soul desires. Well, this is what you are supposed to do: be a ruler in this world.
- Well, thank you! - said the man. “You gave me a good life, but a very short one.”
- Wait! - God answered him. - Sit there in the corner, wait.
Just then the bull appeared before the Lord and said:
“You made me a beast, so tell me, how long will I live, how will I eat, what am I supposed to do?”
God answered him:
- Do you see a man sitting over there on the side? This is your master. You must plow the land for him and drag the cart, but in the summer you will eat grass, and in the winter, straw. So you will walk in a yoke for thirty years.
Well, the bull is unhappy:
- Lord! Thirty years of such hard labor? Turn it down!
A man sitting in the corner heard these speeches and quietly whispered:
- Take away at least a few years from him - and give me more!..
And God laughed and said:
- Well, good! I respect both of you - take twenty years from the bull.
A man has received twenty years of a bull's life, and the dog is in a hurry to God:
- You created me in this world as a dog - so tell me, how long will I live, how will I eat, what am I supposed to do?
God answers her:
- Do you see a man there in the corner? This is your master. And your job is to guard his house, and his flock, and his wealth. You will feed on the scraps that are left after his meal. Your life span is thirty years.
The dog heard all this and said:
- Spare me, Lord! Turn it down a little!
A man sitting in the corner heard her speech and made signs: “Take at least a few years from the dog and give them to me!” Well, God smiled and said:
- I respect both of you - take it, man, the dog has twenty years.
This is how it happened: God left ten years for the dog, but extended the human age to seventy. Just then a monkey came running to the creator of the universe, bowed and said:
- God, God, you made me a monkey. So tell me, how long will I live, what will I eat, what should I do?
God answers her:
“You see, there’s a man sitting on the side.” This is your master. You will serve him faithfully, amuse your master, entertain his children. They will feed you hazelnuts and other fruits. Well, your life is thirty years.
The monkey heard that speech and sighed:
- Unlucky life! Turn it down for me, Lord!
The man makes the sign again:
“Take at least a little from her, and give me more!”
The Lord smiled.
- I respect both of you - take, man, twenty monkey years.
Well, the man took these years, and his life became ninety years old.
So a man lives a free human life for thirty years. From thirty to fifty, he works like a bull to feed his wife and children. And as soon as he earns money and saves money, he becomes a dog: he keeps thinking about how to preserve his wealth. So he barks until he is seventy years old with his household, is stingy, makes trouble, yells. Well, when he turns seventy, the man is like your monkey: everyone makes fun of him, everyone laughs
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru