Once there was a farmer and his wife who lived on a small farm. They worked hard every day, feeding the chickens, milking the cow, and caring for their only white goose. They didn't have much, but they shared everything and dreamed of life becoming a little easier.

One morning, as usual, the farmer went to the goose house. The goose looked at him and cackled softly. In the straw lay an egg that glittered. The farmer bent down and carefully lifted it up. It was heavy. It was shiny. It was made of gold!

"Can it be true?" he whispered.

His wife came running. She held the egg up to the light. "It really is gold!" she said with wide eyes.

They went to town and had a goldsmith look at the egg. The goldsmith nodded. "Pure gold," he said and paid them many coins. The farmer and his wife smiled. Now they could buy flour, a pair of new shoes, and a warm blanket.

The next morning, another golden egg lay in the straw. And the next morning, still another. Every day the goose laid a golden egg, and every day the farmer and his wife saved coins in a small chest.

They began to dream. "A bigger barn," said the farmer. "A new dress," said his wife. They counted coins and planned. Every evening they carefully closed the chest and gave thanks for another good day.

But after a time the waiting became hard. "What if there's lots of gold inside the goose," said the wife one evening. "If we get it all out at once, we'll never have to worry again."

The farmer looked at the chest, at the goose house, and at his wife. "That sounds tempting," he said. "One egg a day goes slowly. If all the gold is in there, we can become rich now."

They whispered and thought. They thought about big houses, about fine things, and about not having to work so hard. Greed crept in, like a small shadow in the room.

Early the next morning the farmer took a sharp knife. The goose looked at him with kind eyes. "Are you sure?" asked the wife with a trembling voice. "We'll be so happy," answered the farmer, though his heart beat hard.

They did it. They opened the goose to find all the gold at once. But inside there was no gold. Only what's inside any goose. The goose lay still. It cackled no more.

The farmer dropped the knife. His wife sat down and covered her face with her hands. In the goose house, it was quiet. No golden glow. No more eggs for the mornings after. The small chest with coins remained, but it filled no longer.

"What have we done?" whispered the farmer. "We had something good, and we wanted more all at once. Now we've lost everything."

The wife nodded. "If we had waited, we would have gotten a golden egg every day. We could have continued to live well and securely."

So the farmer and his wife learned a hard lesson. The one who wants everything at once can lose everything. It is better to be patient, grateful, and wise. And to take care of the good you already have.