Zhuangzi slept using a skull as his pillow. At midnight, he dreamt that the skull told him how happy it was after death.
The skull said, "After death, there is no emperor above nor subjects below, which saves a great deal of trouble. There is no toil through summer heat or winter cold. One is free and at ease, living as long as heaven and earth. Even the pleasure of being an emperor could not surpass this."
Zhuangzi did not believe this. He said he wished the skull could return to life and go back to its parents, wife, and friends.
The skull frowned melancholy and said, "How could I abandon this imperial happiness to return to the painful life on earth?"