Once upon a time, a farmer had a goose that laid a golden egg every day.

The egg provided enough money for the farmer and his wife for their day-

to-day needs. The farmer and his wife were happy for a long time. But one

day, the farmer got an idea and thought, “Why should I take just one egg a

day? Why can’t I take all of them at once and make a lot of money?” The

foolish farmer’s wife also agreed and decided to cut the goose’s stomach

for the eggs. As soon as they killed the bird and opened the goose’s

stomach, to find nothing but guts and blood. The farmer, realizing his

foolish mistake, cries over the lost resource!

The English idiom “kill not the goose that lays the golden egg” was also

derived from this classic story.

A tortoise was resting under a tree, on which a bird had built its nest. The

tortoise spoke to the bird mockingly, “What a shabby home you have! It is

made of broken twigs, it has no roof, and looks crude. What’s worse is that
you had to build it yourself. I think my house, which is my shell, is much

better than your pathetic nest”.

“Yes, it is made of broken sticks, looks shabby and is open to the elements

of nature. It is crude, but I built it, and I like it.”

“I guess it’s just like any other nest, but not better than mine”, said the

tortoise. “You must be jealous of my shell, though.”

“On the contrary”, the bird replied. “My home has space for my family and

friends; your shell cannot accommodate anyone other than you. Maybe you

have a better house. But I have a better home”, said the bird happily.

Lion's Whisker
Long ago in Ethiopia a woman named Leeya married a man who had a son.

His wife had died several years before. Try as Leeya might, she could not

seem to spark a connection with the child.

and he turned away. She sat next to him, and he would get up and walk

away. After several months of this, Leeya didn’t know what to do.

Now in Leeya’s village there was a medicine man, a healer, who lived off

in the mountains. When anyone in the village was sick or hurting, a visit to

him would do the trick. Most of the time, Leeya felt she could fix her own

problems. But not this time. She needed help!

As Leeya came up to the healer’s hut, she saw the door was open. The old

doctor said without turning around, "I hear you coming. What’s the

problem?"

She introduced herself and explained.

“Ah, yes,” he said. “I understand. But what do you expect me to do about

it?"

"Make me a potion, an amulet" cried Leeya. "Anything! Whatever it takes

to get this child to respond to me."

The medicine man looked her in the eye. "Young woman,” he said. “This

is not the same as fixing a broken bone or curing an ear infection. I’m

going to need some time to think about. Come back in three days."
Three days later, Leeya returned to the hut.

"Leeya," said the old man with a smile, "I have good news for you! There

is a potion that will change the child’s behavior toward you. But you

should know that it needs a special ingredient. You must bring me a

whisker from a live lion."

"A lion's whisker?!?” said Leeya with shock. "Such a thing is not

possible!"

"You want your stepson to turn around?!" he shouted. “Bring me a whisker

from a lion.” Then he turned his back. "There is nothing more to say. As

you can see, I’m a very busy man."

That night Leeya tossed and turned. How could she get a whisker from a

live lion?

The next day, she left the house. In her hand was a bowl of rice covered

with meat sauce.

Leeya went to a grove of shady trees where lion tracks had been seen and a

lion was known to live. She walked up to a safe distance from the shady

trees and very quietly set the bowl down on the grass.

Then as quietly and safely as she could, she backed away and went home.
The next day at the same time, she took another bowl of rice covered with

meat sauce to the cave. When she saw that the old bowl was empty, she

took it and put down the new, full one. Again she left quietly.

Every day, she did this. Months went by. Leeya never saw the lion. But

she knew from footprints on the ground that it was the lion who was eating

her food.

Then one day, she noticed the lion's head poking out from behind some

trees. Being sure not to look the lion in the eye, she stepped very slowly to

the same spot as always. She put down the new, full bowl of food, picked

up the empty bowl, and stepped away.

Day by day, the lion’s head poked from behind trees that were closer and

closer to where she set down the bowl. Until one morning the lion was

sitting next to the empty bowl when she arrived, waiting for her. This time

she sat and waited while the lion ate. When he was done, she petted its

thick fur, just like a house cat. She looked into its gentle lion eyes and saw

that it now trusted her.

"Actually,” she thought, “it is a rather friendly creature, when you get to

know it."
This went for for awhile until finally Leeya thought the time had come to

see if she could get the whisker.

The next day, she brought with her a small knife. After she set down the

bowl of food, and the lion allowed her to pet its head, she said in a low

voice, "Oh, dearest lion! Might I have please just one of your many fine

whiskers?"

While petting the lion with one hand, she quickly cut off the whisker with

the other, careful not to hurt the lion in any way. “Thank you, my gentle

friend,” she said.

Quickly, she ran to the medicine man's hut. Holding the whisker tight in

her hand, she cried, "I have it! I have the lion's whisker!"

"You don't say?" said the healer, turning around. "From a live lion?"

"Yes!" she said.

"Tell me," said he. "How did you do it?"

She explained the steps.

With pride she handed him the whisker. The healer looked at it with care.

Then he walked over to the fire and threw it in, where it burned up right

away to a crisp.
"What have you done?!" Leeya cried. “What it took for me to get that!”

"Leeya," said the old doctor softly, "you don’t need the whisker. Tell me, is

this child really more dangerous than a lion? If a wild beast will respond to

your patient, loving care, don’t you think a child who misses his mother

will, too?"

Leeya was startled. But she thought .. maybe? And by the time she got

back home, she knew what she could do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFffDbxIqys&feature=youtu.be