Fairy tale · 声匠改编 · 4:08
The Golden Goose
Kind-hearted Simpleton shares his lunch, finds a goose with golden feathers, and leads a parade of stuck people to a princess who never laughs.
Narrator
Simpleton
The Eldest Brother
The Little Grey Man
The Innkeeper's Daughter
The Parson
The Princess
The KingOther languages · 2 languages
About this story
The Golden Goose is a German fairy tale published by the Brothers Grimm in the first edition of their Children's and Household Tales in 1812. A youngest son whom everyone calls a simpleton shares his poor lunch with a little grey man, is rewarded with a goose of pure gold, and leads a growing chain of people stuck to it until a princess who has never laughed bursts out laughing. This version keeps the brothers' bumps gentle and has everyone come unstuck at the end.
What it teaches
Kindness and sharing are rewarded, and greed gets you into sticky situations. The proud brothers who refuse to share fail, while the youngest, who gives freely, ends up with a friend, a fortune and a laughing princess.
Suits
Ages 4–9
Tips for telling it
- Count the people stuck to the goose on your fingers as the line gets longer.
- Make a conga line round the room and run behind each other like the stuck villagers.
- Ask your child why the little grey man helped the youngest brother and not the others.
Questions people ask
- What is the moral of The Golden Goose?
- Be kind and share what you have, even when it isn't much. The two selfish brothers get nothing, while Simpleton's kindness brings him the goose, the little grey man's help and the princess.
- Who wrote The Golden Goose?
- It is a German folk tale collected by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812 in the first volume of their Children's and Household Tales.
- Is The Golden Goose the same as the goose that laid the golden eggs?
- No. The goose that laid the golden eggs is an Aesop fable about a greedy farmer. The Golden Goose is a Grimm fairy tale about a kind young man, a goose with golden feathers and a princess who could not laugh.
More Fairy tales
All Fairy tales episodes →Goldilocks and the Three Bears
声匠改编
Goldilocks walks into the bears' empty house and tries their porridge, chairs and beds. Then the bears come home. A warm, funny bedtime retelling.
Hansel and Gretel
声匠改编
Lost in the woods, Hansel and Gretel find a house made of cake and sugar, and a witch who wants them for dinner. A gentle retelling of the Grimm tale.
Henny Penny
声匠改编
An acorn bonks Henny Penny on the head and she's sure the sky is falling. Off she rushes to tell the King, until a sly fox offers a short cut.
Jack and the Beanstalk
声匠改编
Jack swaps the family cow for five magic beans, climbs into the clouds, and tiptoes past a giant. A funny bedtime retelling where nobody falls.
The Little Match Girl
声匠改编
On New Year's Eve a barefoot girl sells matches in the snow and lights them one by one to see warm, wonderful visions. Andersen's classic, told tenderly.
The Little Mermaid
声匠改编
A mermaid trades her voice for legs, for a prince who never learns she saved him. Andersen's classic, retold gently for bedtime, with a hopeful ending.
