Two men were walking through the woods and came upon a big black, deep hole. One man picked up a rock and tossed it into the hole and stood listening for the rock to hit bottom. There was no sound. He turned to the other guy and said, “That must be a deep hole… let’s throw a bigger rock in there and listen for it to hit bottom.” The men found a bigger rock, both picked it up, lugged it to the hole, and dropped it in.

They listened for some time, but never heard a sound. Again, they agreed that this must be one deep hole and maybe they should throw something even bigger into it. One man spotted a rail-road tie nearby. They picked up the tie, grunting and groaning, and lugged it to the hole. They tossed it in. No sound. All of a sudden, a goat flew out of the woods, running like the wind, flew past the men, and jumped straight into the hole. The men were shocked and amazed. About that time, an old hayseed farmer came out of the woods and asked the men if they had seen a goat.

One man told the farmer of the incredible incident they had just witnessed…they had just seen this goat fly out of the woods running and leaping into the big hole. The man asked the farmer if this could have been his goat.

The old farmer said, “Naw, that can’t be my goat… he was chained to a railroad tie.”

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One day, God created the dog. God said, “Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. I will give you a life span of twenty years.”

The dog said, “That is too long to be barking. Give me ten years and I’ll give back the other ten years.” So God agreed.

The next day, God created the monkey. God said, “Entertain people, do monkey tricks, make them laugh. I’ll give you a twenty-year lifespan.”

The monkey said, “How boring -- monkey tricks for twenty years? I don’t think so. The Dog gave you back ten years, so that’s what I’ll do too, okay?” And God agreed.

The day after that, God created the cow. God said, you must go to the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under the sun, have calves, and give milk to support the farmer. I will give you a life span of sixty years.”

The cow said, “That’s kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty years. Let me have twenty and I’ll give back the other forty years.” And God agreed again.

Then God created man. God said, “Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. I’ll give you twenty years.” Man said, “What? Only twenty years?! Tell you what, I’ll take my twenty, and the forty the cow gave back and the ten the monkey gave back and the ten the dog gave back … that makes eighty years! Is that okay?” Okay, said God, “You’ve got a deal.”

So, that is why the first twenty years we eat, sleep, play, and enjoy ourselves; for the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our family; the next ten years after that, we do monkey tricks to entertain the grandchildren; and for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone!

Discussion Questions:

1. 1. What do you find funny in this article?

   2. Do you think using humor in daily life is a good thing?

   3. How do you use humor in your daily life?

   4. Do you have a humorous story to share with us?