Storytelling Week 13: The Golden Trick

The Golden Trick
There once was an old man that lived in a far off village.
Every morning he would wake and tend to his hens.

However, this man was not normal by any means. He was the grumpiest, most greedy man in the village. In fact, he was known as the meanest of men by his fellow villagers.

This did not bother the old man in the slightest. Every morning he would wake, sip his warm cup of freshly brewed coffee, watch the beautiful and bright rays of sunshine dance off of his land and tend to his hens.

The hens did not like him much, either. They were always running from him, trying to get away.
One hen in particular was particularly not fond of the man.

"Oh no, oh no, oh no..." the hen complained to her fellow friends one night, "I don't know what to do...I have laid a golden egg!"

The hens, frightened that the old man would show his greedy self and harm them to try to get more precious eggs knew that they had to do something.

They schemed all night long...thinking about how to alter the situation to benefit themselves. The old man would see the egg for sure. He's so greedy that he searches the entire place multiple to make sure he doesn't miss a single egg.

Instead of trying to hide the egg, they came up with the grand scheme to hopefully end their suffering for good.

The next morning, the man woke, completed his daily routine in his house and headed for the hens. He unlocked the door, entered their home and began placing the eggs in his basket. As he reached the end of the hens, he noticed something gold right outside of the back door. He walked outside and as he bent down to pick it up, he realized that he had come across a golden egg!

"A GOLDEN EGG!" He exclaimed. He would be rich! But only one?! How dare the hen only give him one to treasure...he would have more for sure. They must be inside the hen. Now only to find her and slay her for her golden eggs...

But it was too late. While the man was outside, the hens ran off through the opened front door and off as far as they could go. While the man was busy admiring his new found egg, they had escaped out of sight and by the time he came looking for them, they were all gone. The man never had another hen again and was left lonely to finish out his days.

As for the hen that laid the golden egg, she went and lived happily ever after at a farm that cared for her and her friends and used the eggs for good.

Hen. Source: The Untextbook

Author's Note: I chose to write this story when reading Foolish People in the first half of the readings for this week. The original story, the Hen With the Golden Egg, is about a hen that lays golden eggs. There is a man ("the meanest of men") who takes an egg the hen lays, ends up getting too greedy and ultimately ends the hen's life. I always appreciate happier endings for stories, so I created this tale in order to make that a reality.

Bibliography: Fables in Rhyme for Little Folks by W. T. Larned and illustrated by John Rae (1918).