“ ‘How long do you wish to live?’ was inquired of him. ‘Thirty years was allotted to the horse, but that was too much for him; perhaps you will be satisfied with that term?’
“ ‘Do you think so?’ answered the dog. ‘Remember how much I shall have to run and bark and bite. My feet will not last the time, and when I have lost my voice and my teeth, and can neither bark nor bite, what will then be for me but to crawl and howl from one corner to another?’
“Therefore the dog’s plea was granted, and twelve years appointed for his age. After which he departed and made room for the monkey.
“ ‘You will live thirty years willingly, no doubt,’ was said to the ape. ‘You need not work like the horse or the dog, and therefore will always be well off.’
“ ‘Indeed, it should be so’ replied Jacko, ‘but I have found it different. Mine is anything but a life of indolence. I must always be aping my betters, and making comical faces for people to laugh at. Many a hard nut I have to crack. And as sadness is often hidden beneath a grin, so have I to show my teeth, even if they are aching with pain. Please shorten the years of my life.’ So ten years were allotted to him. [[279]]
“Last of all man appeared, healthy and vigorous, and requested a term to be appointed to him.
“ ‘You shall live thirty years,’ was the reply. ‘Is that enough?’
“ ‘What a short time!’ exclaimed the man. ‘Just when I shall have cleared my land, built myself a house, and lighted a fire upon my own hearth, and I am thinking of enjoying life, I must die. I pray let my life be lengthened.’
“ ‘Very well. The eighteen years of the horse shall be added.’
“ ‘That is not sufficient,’ said man.