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.
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Once upon a time, there was a woman who owned a Hen.
This Hen was special because it laid one egg every single day.
The woman was happy with this, but soon she started to wonder if she could get even more eggs from the Hen.
She thought that if she fed the Hen more food, it might produce two eggs a day instead of just one.
So, she made a plan.
The next day, she gave the Hen twice as much food, hoping it would lay more eggs.
The Hen happily ate the extra food and started to grow bigger and heavier.
It looked healthy and content.
But something unexpected happened.
Instead of laying more eggs, the Hen stopped laying any eggs at all.
The woman was confused and upset.
She had hoped for more eggs but ended up with none.
In her attempt to get more, she had lost what she already had.
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Reflection Questions
- Why do you think the woman decided to feed the hen twice as much food?
- What happened to the hen after it started eating more?
- Can you think of a time when wanting more of something didn't work out the way you expected?
- What does this story teach us about being satisfied with what we have?
- How can we apply the lesson from this story when we feel like we want more of something?
Fable Quotes
True wealth lies not in having more, but in wanting less.
More isn't always better; sometimes it leads to less.
Unchecked desires can lead to unexpected outcomes.
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