Aesop | Greece
A Woman and Her Hen
A woman had a special Hen that laid one egg daily, so she tried feeding it more to get two eggs, but it stopped laying altogether.
Once upon a time, there was a woman who had a Hen. This special Hen would lay an egg each and every day. The woman was pleased with this daily gift but she started thinking. She wondered if there might be a way for the Hen to give her two eggs each day instead of just one.
With this thought, the woman came up with a plan. She decided to feed the Hen twice as much barley as usual, hoping this would make the Hen lay more eggs. Starting from the next day, the Hen was given double the food.
The Hen enjoyed the extra barley and started growing bigger and fatter. It looked healthier and happier. But something unexpected happened. The Hen, now fat and content, stopped laying eggs. Not a single egg was laid from that day forward.
The woman was surprised and disappointed. She had expected more eggs, but instead, she ended up with none. Her wish for more had led to less.
