The Golden Goose: A Jataka Tale

Long ago there lived a Goose whose feathers were made of shining gold. Not far from where he lived there was a poor woman, very poor indeed, who had two daughters. The Goose saw how hard life was for them, and he thought to himself:

“If I give them my golden feathers, one at a time, the mother can sell them, and the three of them will be comfortable.”

So off flew the Goose to the poor woman’s house.

When she saw him, the woman said, “Why have you come? We have nothing for you.”

“No, but I have something for you,” the Goose replied. “I’ll bring you my feathers one at a time. Sell them, and you and your girls will have all you need.”

With that he gave her one of his feathers and flew off. Every so often he came back, and each time he left another feather.

The family sold each lovely feather and had enough money to live well. But one day the mother said to the girls, “We shouldn’t trust this Goose. Some day he might go off and not return, and then we’ll be poor again. The next time he comes, let’s take all his feathers.”

“That would hurt the Goose,” said the daughters. “We won’t do anything like that.”

But the mother was greedy. On his very next visit she seized the Golden Goose in both hands and plucked him until not one feather was left.

Now, this Goose had very strange feathers. If they were plucked out against his will, they stopped being golden. They turned white and were worth no more than chicken feathers. And the new feathers that grew in were plain white, too.

As time went by, his feathers grew back. Then he flew away to his own home, and he never came to the poor woman’s house any more.

About this fable

“The Golden Goose” is the fifth tale in Ellen C. Babbitt’s More Jataka Tales (1922), a book of old Buddhist birth stories retold for young readers and illustrated by Ellsworth Young. It is only a few paragraphs long, and the whole story rests on one rule of magic: golden feathers taken against the Goose’s will turn white and worthless.

Babbitt gives the two daughters a small but important part. They refuse to hurt the Goose, and only the greedy mother grabs him.

Read the original: More Jataka Tales (Project Gutenberg)

Suggested for ages 6–8 with an adult available: the goose is painfully plucked bare. Discuss the daughters’ refusal to hurt him.

A gift is not the same as a supply

The mother worries that the help might stop, but taking all the feathers destroys the very relationship she relies on. The daughters recognise the harm before the magic changes the feathers. Their refusal matters: the story gives another possible response to need, so the mother’s choice is not presented as unavoidable.

Follow one feather

Draw two routes: a feather freely given and a feather forcibly taken. Mark where each becomes useful or loses its value. Explain what changes besides the feather’s colour, using the goose’s departure as evidence.

Talk about it

• Why did the Goose want to help the poor family?
• What did the daughters say when their mother wanted all the feathers?
• What happened to the feathers when they were pulled out?

You may also like

• The Story of the Merchant of Seri — a golden bowl, a greedy trader and an honest one
• The Tongue-Cut Sparrow — a kind bird and a greedy old woman
• How the Monkey Saved His Troop — another tale from More Jataka Tales