The Hen and the Golden Eggs

by Aesop

A complete Aesop fable in George Fyler Townsend’s historical English translation. A small story with something to think about.

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Fables Animal stories Wisdom George Fyler Townsend translation

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01The Hen and the Golden Eggs~1 min

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A COTTAGER and his wife had a Hen that laid a golden egg every day. They supposed that the Hen must contain a great lump of gold in its inside, and in order to get the gold they killed it. Having done so, they found to their surprise that the Hen differed in no respect from their other hens. The foolish pair, thus hoping to become rich all at once, deprived themselves of the gain of which they were assured day by day.

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About this edition

Text source: Project Gutenberg
Author: Aesop
Language: English
Text rights: Public domain — original text
Credit: Aesop, “The Hen and the Golden Eggs”, from Three Hundred Aesop’s Fables, translated by George Fyler Townsend (1814–1900). Original public-domain poem; source Project Gutenberg #21. This historical edition’s wording is retained. Surrounding anthology, editorial material and illustrations omitted; text reformatted for reading. Source metadata identifies public domain in the USA.

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