The Goose That Laid the Golden Eggs

There was a woman of modest means who possessed a single Goose of remarkable character. Each day, without fail, this Goose would lay a single egg of pure gold—not merely an egg painted or covered with gold, but a solid golden egg of considerable value and weight. The woman, finding each morning a golden egg in the goose's nest, suddenly possessed wealth beyond her expectations. She was able to purchase a fine house, to dress in beautiful garments, and to live a life of comfort and security. Each day brought new wealth, and each day her gratitude to the Goose should have grown more profound. Yet as weeks and months passed, the woman's gratitude diminished, replaced by impatience and greed. "Why must I wait until each morning for a single golden egg?" she thought. "If this Goose can produce golden eggs, surely the egg-producing mechanism is housed within her body. If I were to open her and examine her interior, perhaps I could understand how she produces these eggs and find a way to obtain them more quickly. Perhaps there is an abundance of gold within her, and I am wasting precious time by waiting for her to produce eggs one at a time." Consumed by this greed and lacking the prudence to be content with steady, reliable gain, the woman resolved to kill the Goose and examine her interior. She acted upon this impulse without further contemplation, taking the life of the creature that had blessed her so abundantly. Yet when she opened the Goose's body, she found nothing unusual within—no chamber of gold, no hidden mechanism for producing eggs. The Goose was simply a creature of miraculous nature, and by destroying her in her greed and impatience, the woman had destroyed the very source of her wealth. Too late, she understood the terrible mistake she had made. She was left with the corpse of the Goose and no prospect of any further golden eggs. The wealth she had obtained was quickly spent, and she was forced to return to her condition of poverty, forever lamenting the loss of her greatest blessing.