The Swan with Golden Feathers
A beautiful Swan with golden feathers helps a poor family, but their greed leads to the loss of his feathers and their friendship.
Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful Swan with feathers that glowed golden in the sunlight. This Swan lived in a serene lake near a small village. In the village, there lived a poor woman with her two daughters. They led a difficult life, filled with many hardships.
One day, as the Swan was flying over the village, he saw the woman and her daughters struggling for their survival. The Swan was deeply moved by their plight and decided to help them.
The Swan flew down to their humble home and introduced himself. He explained that he had seen their suffering and wanted to help. The Swan then shed one of his golden feathers and gave it to them. "Sell this feather," the Swan said, "and you will get enough money to ease your difficulties."
Overjoyed, the woman thanked the Swan. She sold the feather in the market and got enough money to support her family for a few days. After some time, the Swan visited the family again and gave them another feather to sell. This continued for some time, with the Swan regularly visiting the family and giving them one of his golden feathers. The family's life improved, and they were grateful to the Swan.
But as the family became comfortable, they also became greedy. They thought, "Why should we wait for the Swan to give us a single feather each time? Why don't we just catch him and take all his golden feathers at once?"
So, the next time the Swan came to visit, the woman and her daughters attacked him and tried to pluck all his golden feathers. The Swan, surprised and hurt, tried to escape. As he struggled, all his golden feathers fell out. But instead of remaining golden as they had always been, the feathers turned into ordinary swan feathers as soon as they were plucked.
With a heavy heart, the Swan looked at the woman and her daughters. "Your greed has spoiled everything," he said. "I was helping you out of compassion, but you wanted more. Now, I have lost my golden feathers, and you have lost a friend who helped you." With that, the Swan flew away, never to return.
The woman and her daughters ended up with a bunch of ordinary swan feathers, and they deeply regretted their greed.
Audio available for B1 version
Once upon a time, there was a beautiful Swan with feathers that shone like gold in the sunlight.
This Swan lived in a peaceful lake near a small village.
In the village, there was a poor woman with her two daughters.
They had a hard life and faced many difficulties.
One day, as the Swan was flying over the village, he saw the woman and her daughters struggling to survive.
The Swan felt sorry for them and decided to help.
The Swan flew down to their simple home and introduced himself.
He said he had seen their problems and wanted to help.
The Swan then pulled out one of his golden feathers and gave it to them.
"Sell this feather," the Swan said, "and you will get enough money to make your life easier."
The woman was very happy and thanked the Swan.
She sold the feather in the market and got enough money to support her family for a few days.
After some time, the Swan visited the family again and gave them another feather to sell.
This continued for a while, with the Swan regularly visiting the family and giving them one of his golden feathers.
The family's life got better, and they were grateful to the Swan.
But as the family became comfortable, they also became greedy.
They thought, "Why should we wait for the Swan to give us one feather each time?
Why don't we just catch him and take all his golden feathers at once?"
So, the next time the Swan came to visit, the woman and her daughters tried to catch him and take all his feathers.
The Swan, surprised and hurt, tried to escape.
As he struggled, all his golden feathers fell out.
But instead of staying golden, the feathers turned into ordinary swan feathers as soon as they were plucked.
With a heavy heart, the Swan looked at the woman and her daughters.
"Your greed has ruined everything," he said.
"I was helping you out of kindness, but you wanted more.
Now, I have lost my golden feathers, and you have lost a friend who helped you."
With that, the Swan flew away, never to return.
The woman and her daughters ended up with a bunch of ordinary swan feathers and felt very sorry for their greed.
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Reflection Questions
- Why do you think the Swan decided to help the poor woman and her daughters?
- How did the family's behavior change when they started to get help from the Swan?
- Can you remember a time when being patient was better than rushing to get something you wanted?
- What do you think the story teaches us about greed and being grateful for what we have?
- How can we apply the lessons from this story to be more thoughtful and appreciative in our daily lives?
Fable Quotes
Greed blinds us to the true beauty of what we already have.
Appreciation is the key to cherishing the blessings before they fade away into ordinary feathers.
Lack of gratitude can turn the sweetest fruit bitter.
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