The following is a three level introduction to the story of The Goose that Laid the Golden Eggs. Begin with level 1, and work your way up to level 3 by learning the new vocabulary added in each section.
Reading Level 1
Story by Aesop, modern translation by Diedra Drake
A Man and his Wife had a Goose that laid an egg made of gold. It laid a new Golden Egg every day.
They were very lucky, but wanted to get rich faster. They thought the bird must be made of gold inside, and decided to kill it to get all the gold quickly.
But when they cut it open, they found no gold inside. The couple did not get rich, and they also had no more eggs of gold every day.
If you are greedy, you might end up with nothing.
Reading Level 2
Story by Aesop, modern translation by Diedra Drake
A Man and his Wife had the good luck to own a Goose that laid a Golden Egg every day.
Even though they were lucky, they felt they were not getting rich fast enough. They imagined the bird must be made of gold inside, and decided to kill it in order to get all the gold at once.
But when they cut it open they found it was just like any other goose. They did not got rich quickly, as they had hoped, and they no longer had the daily golden eggs.
Wanting more can risk you losing everything.
Reading Level 3
Story by Aesop, translated by V. S. Vernon Jones
A Man and his Wife had the good fortune to possess a Goose which laid a Golden Egg every day.
Lucky though they were, they soon began to think they were not getting rich fast enough, and, imagining the bird must be made of gold inside, they decided to kill it in order to secure the whole store of precious metal at once.
But when they cut it open they found it was just like any other goose. Thus, they neither got rich all at once, as they had hoped, nor enjoyed any longer the daily addition to their wealth.
Much wants more and loses all.
