A farmer and his wife lived a simple life. They weren't rich and they weren't poor. They had a small house, a little garden, and one grey goose.

One morning, the farmer went to collect the goose's egg and stopped in his tracks. The egg was not white. It was heavy, bright, and gleaming. It was made of pure gold.

"Wife!" he shouted. "Come and see!"

They could hardly believe it. But when they took the egg to town, the goldsmith confirmed it was real. They sold it and bought a fine dinner.

The next morning, there was another golden egg. And the morning after that, another. And the morning after that, another still.

Day after day, the goose laid one golden egg. The farmer and his wife grew rich. They bought new clothes. They fixed up their house. They ate well every night.

But the farmer began to feel impatient.

"One egg a day," he grumbled. "Just one. If there's gold coming out of this goose, there must be a fortune inside her. Why should I wait day after day when I could have it all at once?"

His wife wasn't sure. "The goose gives us a golden egg every single morning. Isn't that enough?"

"Enough?" said the farmer. "I want more than enough."

So the foolish farmer took a knife and cut the goose open, expecting to find a belly full of gold.

But inside, the goose was just like any other goose. There was no gold at all.

And now the goose was dead. There would be no more golden eggs — not that morning, not ever.

The farmer sat on the ground and stared at what he had done. He had wanted everything, and now he had nothing.