Don't count your chickens before they hatch: which fable is it from?

It is the moral usually given to The Milkmaid and Her Pail. A milkmaid plans to buy eggs, raise chickens and buy a new dress with the money from her milk, then spills it all before she reaches market.

What is the moral of The Milkmaid and Her Pail?

Don't count on good things before you actually have them. Polly is so busy dreaming about the future that she spills the milk all her plans depended on.

Is The Milkmaid and Her Pail an Aesop fable?

It is often included in collections of Aesop's Fables, but no ancient Greek version is known. The oldest versions come from India, in the Panchatantra, and La Fontaine's French fable of the milkmaid Perrette made it famous in Europe; this version is a VoiceSmiths retelling.

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Fable · 声匠改编 · 3:46

The Milkmaid and Her Pail

Polly carries her milk to market, planning eggs, chickens and a new dress. Then she tosses her head. The fable behind 'don't count your chickens'.

Narrator

Polly, the milkmaid

Polly's Mother

Buttercup the Cow

0:000:00

Other languages · 2 languages

🇨🇳 中文 🇺🇸 English

About this story

The Milkmaid and Her Pail is often printed with Aesop's Fables, but no ancient Greek version is known; the oldest versions come from India, where the Panchatantra tells of a man who daydreams over a pot of meal and smashes it. The tale travelled west through medieval story collections, and Jean de La Fontaine made the milkmaid Perrette famous in 17th-century France. This VoiceSmiths retelling follows dreamy Polly, her sensible mother and a very patient cow, as a full-cast audio story.

What it teaches

Don't count your chickens before they're hatched. Dreaming is good, but pay attention to what you are doing now, or you may lose everything before your plans can even begin.

Suits

Ages 4–9

Tips for telling it

Let children add their own wishes to Polly's daydream, wobbling an imaginary pail on their heads as the list grows.
Pause just before Polly tosses her head and ask: what do you think is about to happen?
Talk about when to say 'don't count your chickens', for example before a game has finished.

Questions people ask

Don't count your chickens before they hatch: which fable is it from?: It is the moral usually given to The Milkmaid and Her Pail. A milkmaid plans to buy eggs, raise chickens and buy a new dress with the money from her milk, then spills it all before she reaches market.
What is the moral of The Milkmaid and Her Pail?: Don't count on good things before you actually have them. Polly is so busy dreaming about the future that she spills the milk all her plans depended on.
Is The Milkmaid and Her Pail an Aesop fable?: It is often included in collections of Aesop's Fables, but no ancient Greek version is known. The oldest versions come from India, in the Panchatantra, and La Fontaine's French fable of the milkmaid Perrette made it famous in Europe; this version is a VoiceSmiths retelling.

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