下金蛋的鹅
A farmer and his wife had a goose that was not like any other goose. Every morning, she laid an egg made of solid gold.
The couple sold the eggs, and soon they were rich. But the richer they grew, the more impatient they became. "One egg a day is so slow," the wife complained. "Think how much gold there must be inside her."
"You're right," said the farmer. "If we cut her open, we could have all the gold at once."
So they killed the goose and cut her open. But inside, she was just like any other goose. There was no gold at all.
Now they had no goose, and there would be no more golden eggs.
People who want too much often end up losing everything.
有个农夫和他的妻子养了一只鹅，这只鹅和别的鹅都不一样：它每天早上都会下一个纯金的蛋。
夫妻俩把金蛋卖掉，很快就发了财。可是他们越有钱，就越没有耐心。“一天才一个蛋，太慢了，”妻子抱怨道，“你想想，它肚子里得有多少金子啊。”
“你说得对，”农夫说，“要是把它剖开，咱们一下子就能拿到所有的金子。”
于是，他们杀了那只鹅，把它剖开。可是鹅肚子里和别的鹅一模一样，一点金子也没有。
这下，他们既没了鹅，也再也得不到金蛋了。
贪心不足的人，到头来往往一无所有。