(From a 4 year olds perspective.....)

We were all wondering about the sad fact that animals lives are shorter than human lives. Shane, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why." Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me, I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.

He said, "Everybody is born so they can learn how to live a good life, like loving everybody and being nice, right?" The four year old continued, "Well, animals already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay that long."

Robert Dowing, D.V.M. from "Rites of Passage".