Long, long ago, when only people lived on Earth, God called in a chicken, a dog and a pig. He ordered them to go down to Earth and do something good for humans for one year. He promised that he would give them nice awards if they faithfully followed his instruction. The three animals were sent to the human world and tried to help people in their own way.

A year passed, and God summoned the animals again. He asked them what they had done to help people. First, the chicken proudly said, “God, I crowed every morning to announce the coming of dawn so people would know it was time to get up. They then started a new day and worked hard.” God was pleased to hear this. He said, “Good job, chicken. You certainly did something useful for humans. As a reward, I’ll give you a beautiful, red ornament. You can wear it on your head.” The chicken thanked God for the nice present.

Next, the dog came forward and said, “God, I kept a vigilant guard over the house at night to protect sleeping people. I thought they needed to get a good night’s sleep to stay healthy and work diligently the following day.” God gave a nod of agreement. “I’m glad to hear that you, dog, helped people a lot. You definitely deserve a reward. Since you have three legs, I’ll give you a fourth leg. You’ll feel much more comfortable with four legs than three.” The dog was overjoyed at the unexpected gift.

Lastly, God turned to the pig. “So, pig, tell me what you did for humans. I’m sure you also did something beneficial for people.” The pig said bluntly, “God, I tried very hard to come up with ways to help humans, but I couldn’t. Because the chicken and the dog had already done everything I had thought of.” God was upset. He spoke in a solemn voice. “Pig, are you saying you didn’t do anything for humans?” The pig tried to find proper words. “God, I did devour leftover food thrown by people.” God was enraged now. “So, all you did was just eat and sleep. Pig, you didn’t follow my order. I’ll punish you.” With these words, God cut off the pig’s long nose.

Ever since then, pigs have had short noses, going around sniffing and grunting. Chickens, on the other hand, have perky, red combs on their head, while dogs have developed the habit of lifting their hind leg when urinating so they would not soil the precious gift from God.