A farmer lived on his farm with his wife and all his animals. Every morning, he took a round of the farm. He would look at all the animals, give them food and ensure that all his animals were safe and healthy.
One morning, as he walked around, he saw a golden egg laid by one of the hens. He picked up the golden egg and ran inside his house to show his wife the egg. The excited farmer said, “Look! One of our hens gave a golden egg. It is pure gold. We will never have to work again. But I don’t know which of the hens has given it.”
The wife took up the task to check at night which hen laid the golden egg. The next morning, they found the hen and made a special home for her. The farmer’s wife took special care of the hen and gave her good food. Every morning, they used to come in order to pick up the golden egg.
The farmer’s family grew richer and richer. They bought new things for the house and people started asking about their success. They would say, ‘We struck gold’ and walk on.
But as they became richer, they became greedier as well. One night, the farmer’s wife told the farmer, “Why do we wait every morning for an egg? Let us kill the hen and get all the gold at once. She must have a lot of gold in her stomach.”
The farmer agreed and the same night, they got the hen and killed it. But to their disappointment, there was no gold in the hen’s stomach. The farmer and his wife felt miserable holding the dead hen in their arms.
