The young children of the village gathered around the fire as Parashurama settled in to tell his story of the night. Every night, Parashurama tells a story to the younger children so that they may learn a valuable lesson to think about before going to bed.
There was once a very kind and loving man who had a wife and two daughters, which he loved very much. He spent all of his days laboring out in the fields in front of their modest little cottage, gathering as much rice and grains as he possibly could as a means for providing for them.
There was once a very kind and loving man who had a wife and two daughters, which he loved very much. He spent all of his days laboring out in the fields in front of their modest little cottage, gathering as much rice and grains as he possibly could as a means for providing for them.
The
problem was this type of lifestyle did not provide very much money or food for
his family to live on and he wanted so much more for them. So, in hopes
of finding a better life for his loved ones, this man set out into the forest
late one night and headed towards the city of Lanka, where he had heard many
riches await.
On
his way to Lanka, a little fairy of the forest approached from the distance. This fairy had a bright yellow glow about her
as she whizzed through the air, hopping from one tree branch to the other in
quick little spurts.
“What’s
this? What an odd little creature!” the man thought to himself. “Who are you, little one, and why do you seek
me?” he politely asked the fairy.
“I
am the fairy that watches over this forest and I came to ask why you might be
out traveling alone so late at night.
That’s very dangerous you know.”
“I
seek riches and a better life for my family, as I have a wife and two young
daughters and I do not have very much to provide for them in the rice fields
outside our little cottage”, he then explained.
And
with that, the fairy magically transformed the man into a goose! But not just any goose. She had transformed him into a goose covered
in feathers of gold.
“Oh
no, what have you done? Now I will never be able to make it to Lanka and obtain
more money!” The man began to say in a distraught manner, before noticing his
beautiful golden feathers reflected in a puddle on the
ground.
He
then realized that he could provide a limitless amount of money for his family
and they would never have to worry about any of their troubles ever again. He immediately flew home, excited to show his
family their new-found fortune. Without
realizing that he was not able to speak like a human anymore, the beautiful
golden goose approached his old door step and waited for his loving wife to
greet him.
Suddenly,
as she opened the door and noticed such a sight she thought to herself , “All of
our prayers have been answered! This golden goose’s feathers will provide us
with all of the money we need and give us a delicious meal to eat tonight as
well! My husband will be so pleased.”
That
was the end of the poor goose who only wanted more for his family.
"So you see, little ones, both the husband and the wife were wrong in their ways and for that, they were both punished."
"But I don't understand wise Parashurama? I get why the wife was wrong but what ever did the husband do to deserve such an end?"
"Ah, you see, my children, both husband and wife wanted too much and were greedy in their ways. The husband desired too much for his family and the wife was gluttonous, taking all that the goose had to offer and leaving behind nothing. And this is why you should always be content with what you have and never desire more."
"So you see, little ones, both the husband and the wife were wrong in their ways and for that, they were both punished."
"But I don't understand wise Parashurama? I get why the wife was wrong but what ever did the husband do to deserve such an end?"
"Ah, you see, my children, both husband and wife wanted too much and were greedy in their ways. The husband desired too much for his family and the wife was gluttonous, taking all that the goose had to offer and leaving behind nothing. And this is why you should always be content with what you have and never desire more."
The Golden Goose
Author's Note: The idea for this story originally came from the old story "The Golden Feathers" in the book, Twenty Jataka Tales. In the original version there is a man with a wife and two daughters that wants to make more money so he can buy jewels and other material objects for his family to have, so he sets out to the forest in hopes of finding something for them. On the way he meets a fairy that turns him into a golden goose so that his family may sell his feathers and obtain riches that way. In this original version, when he returns home, at first the wife takes one feather at a time and sells it and lives off of that money for a little while and then when it runs out, they sell another one. After some time, though, the wife gets greedy and takes all the feathers at once and then they turn to normal goose feathers again and lose all of their value. I didn't like this and was going to make my version happier, but then decided that it's more interesting with a dark ending and this way, a more valuable lesson can be taught to the reader. I edited the end of the story to make the moral more clear to the reader, and I began the story this time with an explanation that Parashurama is telling this tale to young children in a small village. This was done because not only does it make the story more interesting, but also fits in better to the theme of my portfolio as it is supposed to be related to Parashurama and his wise lessons he has to offer.
Bibliography: Twenty Jataka Tales, Retold by Noor Inayat
