TheGoldenGoose

The Golden Goose In a small house in a village, there lives

a woodcutter with his wife and three sons.

The eldest son is Overtan.

He is tall and strong.

The second son is Middleton.

He is tall and strong too.

Their mother and father always tell them how handsome and clever they are.

They are proud of them.

However, the younger son is short and weak.

His name is Simpleton.

His family thinks Simpleton is silly and lazy.

They hardly ever call him by his real name.

But instead, they use the cruel nickname Dummy for him.

Because they think he is stupid.

Everyone in the family makes fun of him.

One morning, the eldest son Overtan gets up early to go to the forest to chop wood.

Before he leaves home, his mother prepares a beautiful sweet cake

and some orange juice for him.

And she puts them in a basket.

My handsome son, these are for you, she says.

Overtan takes the basket and starts walking to the forest.

As he enters the forest, he meets a dwarf.

Please give me a piece of cake out of your basket

and let me drink some of your orange juice, says the dwarf.

I'm so hungry and thirsty.

But Overtan answers, go away, little old beggar.

If I give you my cake and orange juice, I'll have none for myself.

So, the little old man goes away.

When Overtan starts to cut down a tree, his axe slips and folds on his foot.

He immediately goes home and bandages his wound.

The next morning, the second son, Middleton, goes to the forest to chop wood.

His mother gives him, like she does, to her eldest son,

a tasty cake and some orange juice in a basket.

My clever son, these are for you, she says.

Middleton takes the basket and starts walking to the forest.

After a short time, he comes across the same dwarf as his brother.

I'm very hungry and thirsty.

Please share your cake and orange juice with me, says the dwarf.

Go away, you old lazy beggar.

If you want to eat, you must work, says Middleton rudely.

So, the little old man goes away.

Middleton starts cutting down a tree.

But suddenly, the axe flies out of his head and hits him on the head.

He immediately goes home and bandages his head.

For the rest of the week, Overtan and Middleton lie in their beds.

The third and the youngest son goes to his mother and says,

I can chop wood.

Please let me go to the forest.

His mother is surprised.

You are weak and lazy.

Look, your brothers have hurt themselves while chopping wood.

And you don't know anything about doing it.

But, Simpleton begs her so long that, at last,

she prepares a basket for him too.

There is only a piece of bread and some water in it.

Simpleton takes the basket and starts walking to the forest.

When he comes to the forest, he meets the dwarf too.

Please give me some food and drink out of your basket.

I'm so hungry and thirsty, says the dwarf.

Old men, I'll gladly share what I have, says Simpleton.

But there is only a piece of bread and some water in my basket.

The dwarf smiles and says,

Thank you, young men.

You are very kind and generous.

So, I'll give you a gift.

Listen to me.

There is a big old tree by the lake.

Cut it down.

You will find something in it.

Thank you, says Simpleton.

Then he goes to the lake.

Simpleton sees the big tree.

He takes his axe and cuts it down.

When the tree falls down, he sees a goose inside it.

However, it isn't an ordinary one.

It is covered in gold.

Even its feathers are made of gold.

Simpleton gets very happy.

Why should I go home?

He thinks.

My family will take this valuable bird from me.

So, Simpleton decides to run away from home.

He puts the bird under his arm and goes to a hotel.

He plans to spend the night there.

I want an ice room, he says, to the hotel keeper.

I haven't got coins for you, but I can pay for the room with a golden feather.

The hotel keeper is pleased to see a golden goose.

He has got a big smile on his face.

I have got a very comfortable room for you, he says.

Simpleton goes to his room to sleep.

The hotel keeper has three daughters.

They can't believe their eyes when they see the golden goose.

They are curious to see what kind of a bird it is.

The eldest daughter thinks.

I want to see this valuable bird.

It would be amazing to have one of his golden feathers.

I must find an opportunity to pull out a feather, so I will go to his room at night.

After the clock strikes midnight, the eldest daughter comes into Simpleton's room.

Simpleton is asleep with his arm around the goose.

The girl gets closer to the goose to pluck a feather.

However, she sees that her hand is stuck to the goose as soon as she touches it.

She can't move or cry out for help.

At one o 'clock at night, the second daughter comes into Simpleton's room as she wants to take a golden feather too.

It is dark in the room, so she can't see her sister.

She touches her sister's hand.

She tries to take her hand away, but she sees that her hand is stuck to her sister's hand.

So she has to stay there too.

After the clock strikes too at night, the youngest daughter comes into Simpleton's room.

Keep away, for goodness sake, keep away.

Cry out her sisters, but she doesn't understand why she should keep away.

My sisters are there, she thinks.

I want to be there too.

The moment she touches her sister's arm, she gets stuck to it.

So they all have to spend the night there.

Simpleton wakes up in the morning.

He sees the three sisters stuck to the goose, but he doesn't trouble himself about them.

I'm sorry ladies, he says.

I must go now.

He takes the golden goose under his arm and makes his way to the town.

Because the three sisters are stuck to the goose, they have to follow Simpleton.

On their way to town, a milkman sees them.

What a strange sight.

He thinks.

Why are these three young women following a boy?

The moment the milkman taps on the youngest sister's shoulder, he gets stuck to her.

After a short time, two farmers and a woodcutter become a part of the chain too.

Now, there are seven people behind Simpleton, all holding on to each other's arm.

When they come to the town, Simpleton sees the king's palace.

There is a crowd in front of the palace.

Why are there so many people here?

He asks to women.

The king has a very beautiful daughter, but she has the saddest face in the world.

She has never laughed and not even once smiled.

If a man can make the princess smile, he will marry her, says the men.

Simpleton thinks that they look funny enough to make the princess laugh, so he goes near her.

When the princess sees Simpleton and the queue of people behind him, she thinks they are very amusing.

And she starts to laugh loudly.

The king calls Simpleton and says,

You have made my daughter happy.

You can marry her.

The next day, Simpleton and the princess get married.

They live in the palace happily ever after.