Barnaby Button lived in a cozy little cottage with a slightly leaky roof. He wasn't rich, but he was mostly happy, especially when his old hen laid an egg for his breakfast. One sunny morning, a new goose waddled into his yard. It was a fine-looking goose, plump and white. Barnaby decided to keep it.

The next day, Barnaby went to check for eggs. And there, in the nest the goose had made, was something amazing! It wasn't an ordinary white egg. It was heavy, and it gleamed. It was an egg made of pure, shiny gold!

Barnaby could hardly believe his eyes. He carefully picked it up. It was real! He sold the golden egg and bought himself a new hat, some tasty cheese, and fixed the leaky bit in his roof.

Every single morning after that, the wonderful goose laid one golden egg. Not two, not zero, just one perfect golden egg. Barnaby became quite comfortable. He had good food, nice clothes, and his cottage was snug and warm.

But soon, Barnaby started to think. "One golden egg a day is good," he mumbled to himself, stirring his porridge, "but if this goose can lay golden eggs, it must be full of gold inside! Imagine! A whole pile of gold! Why wait for one egg a day when I can have it all right now?"

It wasn't his kindest thought, and it certainly wasn't his smartest.

So, with a flutter of excitement and a rather greedy glint in his eye, Barnaby decided he would open up the goose to get all the gold at once. He caught the goose, and very quickly, he did just that.

But oh dear! When he looked inside, there was no pile of gold. There weren't even any little golden nuggets. The goose was just like any other goose on the inside. And now, sadly, it wouldn't lay any more eggs at all – not even plain white ones, and certainly no more golden ones.

Barnaby Button sat down with a sigh, looking at the goose that would never lay another egg. He had wanted everything all at once, and because of that, he ended up with nothing. He learned that day that being patient and happy with the good things you get bit by bit is sometimes the best treasure of all.

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