Once upon a time, in a quiet village, lived an old man and an old woman. The old woman had a hen that laid two eggs every day. She relished them, never giving a single one to the old man. One day, the old man, tired of her selfishness, pleaded, "Can you spare me a couple of eggs? I'd like to taste them too."
"Absolutely not!" retorted the stingy old woman. "If you want eggs, get your rooster to lay them! Look at my hen, laying plenty of eggs after I gave it a good thrashing!"
The old man, being equally miserly, lashed out at his rooster, demanding, "Lay eggs for me, or be gone!" Once freed, the rooster ran off, soon discovering a small purse with two half-pennies on the road. Delighted, it rushed back towards home.
On its way, it crossed paths with a carriage carrying a gentleman and a few ladies. Intrigued by the purse in the rooster's beak, the gentleman asked his driver to investigate. The driver took the purse and handed it to his master, who pocketed it without a second thought. Furious, the rooster chased after the carriage, crying out:
"Cock-a-doodle-doo! Return my little purse to me!"
Enraged, the gentleman ordered the driver to dispose of the annoying bird into a well. Finding itself in deep waters, the rooster quickly gulped down all the water and flew out. Again, it chased the carriage, shouting for its purse.
Seeing the rooster's persistence, the gentleman, exasperated, ordered it to be thrown into a fire, blocking the exit with a stone. However, the clever rooster spat out all the water it had swallowed, dousing the fire and making a grand escape. It tapped on the gentleman's window, repeating its demand.
"Foul creature!" the gentleman bellowed, "Throw it among my herds, maybe a bull will end my misery!" However, the rooster swallowed every last animal in the herd, its belly growing large. It returned to the window, blocking out the sun, and demanded:
"Cock-a-doodle-doo! Return my little purse to me!"
Out of options, the gentleman locked the rooster in his treasure chamber, hoping the gold coins would choke it. But the rooster gobbled up all the treasure, leaving the chests empty. Finally, the exasperated gentleman surrendered the purse. The rooster left with its loot, trailed by a host of other birds, as the gentleman heaved a sigh of relief.
Returning home, the rooster disgorged the swallowed herd and mountains of gold onto a sheet, as instructed by the old man. Overwhelmed with joy, the old man praised his rooster while the old woman watched enviously.
"Can you spare me a few gold coins?" she pleaded.
"Just as you spared me your eggs? No!" retorted the old man. "Maybe you should give your hen another beating, it might bring you gold!"
Angered, the old woman beat her hen, which then ran away, returning later with a shiny bead. Thinking it a precious gem, she eagerly awaited an egg. However, what she found was a mere glass bead. Furious, she beat the hen to death.
The old man, now rich, lived comfortably while the old woman, having killed her hen, remained poor. The rooster, dressed in a golden collar and yellow boots, lived like a king, reminding everyone of the importance of kindness and the perils of greed.
Once upon a time in the quietest village ever—seriously, you could hear a worm sneeze—there lived an old man and an old woman. The old woman had this hen, a proper diva of a chicken, that laid two eggs each and every day. She loved her eggy treasure so much she wouldn't even give one to the old man.
The old man, who was as grumpy as a cat thrown in water, finally had enough. "Oi, missy! How 'bout you slide an egg my way?"
"Not a chance," the old woman snapped. "If you want eggs, get your rooster to cough 'em up. After all, I had a little chat with my hen, and look, eggs for days!"
So, the old man stared down his rooster. "Listen, you walking feather duster! You're gonna start laying eggs or hit the road!" The rooster decided the road sounded better.
Off the rooster went on an adventure and found a purse full of shiny half-pennies. "Ka-ching! Cock-a-doodle-doo!" He raced home to share the loot.
But whoosh! A fancy carriage sped by with a man inside dressed like he'd just robbed a jewelry store. "What's that? A purse?" said the fancy man, and took it quicker than a hiccup.
"Nuh-uh, hand it over! Cock-a-doodle-doo!" The rooster chased the carriage like he was in a blockbuster movie.
Annoyed, the fancy man said, "Dump him in a well, will ya? I've got a gala to attend!"
But, ah-ha! The rooster guzzled all the water and flew out like a feathered rocket. "You can't drown this doodle! Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
Getting desperate, the fancy man yelled, "Fine, throw him into a fire!"
Our rooster turned into a one-bird fire brigade! Spitting out the water, he extinguished the fire. "Try again, hotshot! Cock-a-doodle-doo!"
"Fed up!" said the fancy man. "Throw him in my treasure room. Maybe he'll gorge himself and get lost."
The rooster's eyes went wider than saucers. He chomped on gold, diamonds, and rubies. He got so big he almost got stuck in the door on his way out!
The fancy man was out of ideas. "Fine, take it! Just go!"
Our rooster wobbled home, jingling and jangling, and spat out mountains of riches and even a few cows and goats. "Cock-a-doodle-doo! Payday!"
Now the old woman's eyes nearly popped out. "Ooh, can I have some?"
The old man just chuckled, "Remember the egg embargo? No sparkly stuff for you!"
So, she tried to get her hen to bring some treasure. All she got was a fake shiny bead. She was so mad, her hen decided the great chicken coop in the sky was a safer place to be.
So, the old man lived like a rockstar, and the old woman had to deal with her big, fat lesson in sharing. And the rooster? Oh, he wore gold boots and strutted around town, getting fan mail from all the other birds. Every time he crowed "Cock-a-doodle-doo," it was like he was saying, "Be cool, be kind, and the world's your oyster—or, you know, your henhouse."
Old Man, Old Woman, in a town so small,
She had a hen, laying eggs, two-for-all.
She ate them herself, no share, no care,
Old Man just watched, sat back in his chair.
"Hey, can I have some?" the Old Man inquired,
"No way," she said, "get your own, I'm tired.
My hen lays eggs 'cause I gave her a tap,
Get your rooster in gear, let him fill the gap!"
Old Man then told his rooster, "Listen here!
Lay eggs or leave, make it crystal clear."
Rooster ran off, but found on the way,
A purse with coins that would brighten his day.
A carriage passed by, with folks dressed so grand,
They took the purse, yes, they took it from his hand.
"Bring back my purse," crowed Rooster aloud,
"Dump him in the well," said the man, so proud.
But Rooster drank up the water, flew to the sky,
Chased down the carriage, gave another loud cry.
"Toss him in the fire!" yelled the angry man next,
But Rooster spat water, left the man vexed.
"Among the bulls," yelled the man, "maybe they'll stop him!"
But Rooster gulped them down, his chances not grim.
"Fine, have it back!" sighed the man, done with the chase,
Rooster crowed proudly, a smile on his face.
Back home he went, gold and herd on display,
Old Man cheered, "My rooster saves the day!"
Old Woman asked, "Can I have some gold, a piece or two?"
"Like you shared your eggs? This gold's not for you!"
She thumped her hen, who found just a bead,
She thought it a gem, but it was glass indeed.
She thumped her hen once more, and oh what a sight,
The hen didn't move, it was out like a light.
Old Man was rich, Old Woman stayed poor,
Rooster strutted around, folklore evermore.
Kindness he showed, and the lesson was clear:
Greed leads to loss, but kindness is dear.
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