The Hen and the Golden Eggs

Quick Answer

Why This Story Works for Bedtime

It’s a clear, calm fable with a safe ending: no monsters, just a gentle reminder to be grateful. Great for a bedtime chat about ‘enough’ and slowing down.

Story Synopsis

A farmer lives simply at the edge of a green wood. He isn’t rich, but his days feel steady—until one morning he opens the nest box and sees something shining. One of his hens has laid an egg of pure gold. At first he thinks it must be a trick of the light, but day after day the same wonder appears. The farmer sells the eggs, and his small life begins to change. His cottage grows warmer, his table fuller, and his worries quieter. But as the coins pile up, a new feeling creeps in: impatience. If one egg is gold, he thinks, perhaps the hen is full of treasure. He stops seeing the miracle as enough and starts chasing “more.” The story ends with a quick, regrettable choice—and a quiet morning afterward where the farmer learns that greed can destroy what gratitude would have protected.

Story Excerpt

There once was a farmer who lived a quiet and simple life in a small cottage at the edge of a green wood. His days followed the rhythm of the sun, rising early to tend his modest garden and care for his small flock of hens. He did not have much, but he had enough, and a feeling of peace settled over his small farm like the morning mist. One morning, as he went to the henhouse to collect the eggs for his breakfast, he noticed a strange and wonderful light coming from one of the nesting boxes. Peeking inside, he saw an egg unlike any he had ever seen. It was not the familiar creamy white or speckled brown of a normal egg. This one shone with a soft, warm luster. It was heavy in his hand, perfectly smooth, and gleamed as if it held the sunlight within it. It was an egg of pure, solid gold. The farmer could hardly believe his eyes. He carefully carried the golden egg back to his cottage and set it on his simple wooden table, where it seemed to fill the small room with light. The next…

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