Henry was a poor merchant, and whatever he earned was enough for his needs. After coming home from work one day, Henry was hungry and was wondering what to cook when he heard a hen. As he was about to kill the hen, it spoke and promised to lay a golden egg everyday. The following morning, Henry found a golden egg outside his house with the hen beside it. Very soon, Henry became rich and took care of the hen well. Until one day, greed came over Henry and thought if he could cut open the hen's stomach, then he could get all the golden eggs out at once, instead of waiting for the hen to lay the eggs one by one. Upon killing the hen, Henry found no golden eggs.