Once upon a time, a farmer was living alone in a hut. He was very poor and used to struggle for his daily needs. One day, as he walked into his home, hungry and tired, he searched for food all around the house. But, to his dismay, he found nothing but just a few grains of rice. As he was wondering what to do for his food, he heard a hen clucking outside. An idea then struck him and at once he went outside to get the hen.
He ran and chased the hen and after quite a bit of running around, the farmer finally caught the hen. He took the hen inside his house and sharpened his knife. Just as he was about to kill the hen, the hen pleaded with him to spare his life. The farmer was taken aback as he heard the hen speak. The hen then said that she would lay a golden egg everyday if he spared her life. She then said that if she had not laid a golden by tomorrow, then the farmer could kill her. The farmer thought this was a good deal and so he did not kill the hen. So, without having any food, the farmer lay in anticipation for the next day to arrive.
As soon as dawn arrived, the farmer went to the hen and lo and behold, he found a golden egg next to the hen. He took the golden egg and going to the market he shouted at the top of his voice that he had a golden egg to sell. Soon, a crowd of people surrounded him and he sold it to the person who paid the highest price. Just as the other people were leaving in a disappointed state of mind, he said that he would get one everyday and they could buy it one by one from him. And so, this chain of events went on until he sold a lot of golden eggs.
His thatched hut home changed into a pepper house. Empty shelves were decked with a variety of items and most importantly, he had a huge variety of food to eat. He should have been happy, but instead he was overcome by greed now. He got the evil idea of killing the hen and taking all the golden eggs that lay inside her. Without a moment’s hesitation, he went out, grabbed the hen and brought her inside his house. Taking his knife, he killed her with a single blow and after cutting her open, he found nothing but blood and flesh. There were no golden eggs. Nothing but misery awaited him. He had now even lost the golden egg which he would get daily from her. The farmer now sat down in despair, crying over spilt milk.
Moral - One should always be happy with what they have. Greed is always an evil which should be kept away.