The Speckled Hen

Once upon a time there lived an old man and an old woman. Nothing did they have but each other and a Speckled Hen.

One sunny day the Hen laid an egg. But it wasn’t a plain old egg. That egg was a golden egg.

The old man and the old woman were never seen happier.

The old man tried to crack the golden egg. He beat and he knocked, he bumped and he thumped – the egg didn’t crack.

The old woman tried to crack the golden egg. She beat and she knocked, she bumped and she thumped – the egg didn’t crack.

A teeny-weeny mouse was passing by. A teeny-weeny mouse wagged its tale. The tale pushed the egg. The egg fell down. The egg smashed into pieces.

The old man was sobbing. The old woman was howling.

The Speckled Hen was comforting:

-Don’t cry, the old man! Stop howling, the old woman! I will lay you another egg – not a golden one, but the plain old white one.

THE END