A poor farmer who lost his livestock to a flood is given a goose by an old man passing by, hoping it would help ease the farmer's hardship. The goose lays a golden egg each week, rapidly improving the farmer's livelihood, but he becomes lazy, arrogant, and greedy. Impatient to get more gold, the foolish farmer slaughters the goose but finds no more eggs, realizing too late he has lost his good fortune.