Friday 2 August 2013

'The Goose that laid the Golden Eggs'


'The Goose that laid the Golden Eggs', an illustration by JVL in Aesop's Fables, Jonathan Cape, 1989.


This is a fable by Babrius  showing that grasping people often destroy the very thing that is of benefit to them.

The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs
A CERTAIN man had the good fortune to possess a goose that laid a golden egg every day. Dissatisfied with one egg a day, and thinking to obtain the whole treasure at once, he killed the goose, and, cutting her open, found her - just what any other goose would be!

Text: John Coker edition (p112, 1927).

Selected parallels: Babrius 123. Avianus 33. Caxton, (Avianus 24).  La Fontaine 5/13. L’Estrange 1/247. Chambry 287. Perry 87. Daly 87. TMI D876.

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