下金蛋的鵝
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.
有個農夫和他的太太養了一隻鵝，這隻鵝和別的鵝都不一樣：牠每天早上都會下一顆純金的蛋。
夫妻倆把金蛋賣掉，很快就發財了。可是他們越有錢，就越沒耐心。「一天才一顆蛋，太慢了，」太太抱怨，「你想想，牠肚子裡得有多少金子啊。」
「你說得對，」農夫說，「要是把牠剖開，我們一下子就能拿到全部的金子。」
於是，他們殺了那隻鵝，把牠剖開。可是鵝肚子裡和別的鵝一模一樣，一點金子也沒有。
這下，他們不但沒了鵝，也再也拿不到金蛋了。
太貪心的人，到頭來常常一無所有。