Once upon a time, in a little cottage, lived a little old man and a little old woman. And with them lived a little hen. She was very pretty — her feathers were all speckled, brown and white, as if someone had painted them.
One morning, the hen was sitting in the coop on soft hay. Suddenly — cluck! — she laid an egg. But this was no ordinary egg. It was golden! It shone like the sun, and it glowed so bright you wanted to shut your eyes.
The hen came out of the coop and called, "Cluck! Cluck! Grandpa, Grandma, come look!"
Grandpa came and saw the golden egg. He was so happy! He took it in his hands and tapped it with his finger — no crack. He pressed harder — still nothing. He tried and tried, until he was a little sweaty, but the egg wouldn't break.
Grandma tried, too. She tapped it with a spoon, then gave it a little whack — oh, so hard! The golden egg didn't even think about cracking.
Grandpa and Grandma sat on the bench and felt sad. "Such a pretty egg, but what to do with it?" sighed Grandma. "I'd like to fry an egg or bake a cake," added Grandpa. And they both cried a little — not from sadness, but from not knowing what to do.
Just then, a little mouse ran across the floor. She was grey, with twitchy whiskers and a tiny tail. She scurried along, in a hurry, and didn't see the golden egg on the edge of the table.
Scamper! — the mouse's tail brushed the table. The egg wobbled, rolled, and — crash! — fell to the floor. It broke into tiny pieces, and golden sparkles flew everywhere.
Then Grandpa and Grandma really cried — but not from sadness, from surprise.
But the little speckled hen came over to them, tilted her head, and said softly, "Don't cry, my dears. I'll lay you another egg. It won't be golden, just a plain white one. You can fry it or put it in a cake."
Grandpa and Grandma wiped their tears, smiled, and stroked the hen's soft feathers.
And the very next morning, the hen really did lay a plain white egg. Grandma boiled it, and they all had breakfast together — Grandpa, Grandma, and the little speckled hen, who pecked at seeds beside them.
And everyone was happy.