The Golden Goose Jataka

In one of his past lives, the Bodhisatta (the future Buddha) was born as a magnificent golden goose. In his previous life, he had been a Brahmin who died leaving his wife and three daughters in extreme poverty.

Retaining the memory of his past life, the golden goose saw his former family suffering. He flew to their house and told his wife, 'I am your reborn husband. I cannot live with you, but I will give you one golden feather every time I visit. You can sell it and live comfortably.'

For a long time, the goose kept his promise, dropping one golden feather periodically. The family became wealthy and lived a very comfortable life.

However, human greed is boundless. The mother thought, 'Animals are unpredictable. What if he stops coming? Let us catch him and pluck all his golden feathers at once so we can be rich forever.'

The daughters objected, but the mother ignored them. The next time the golden goose arrived and trusted her, she grabbed him by the neck and brutally plucked every single feather from his body.

But a golden feather plucked against the bird's will immediately loses its magic. The beautiful golden feathers instantly turned into ordinary, worthless white crane feathers. The goose, in pain and unable to fly, stayed until new white feathers grew back, then flew away, never to return. The greedy family was reduced to poverty again.