লোভী কৃষক (The Greedy Farmer)

​একদা এক গ্রামে এক দরিদ্র কৃষক বাস করত। তার একটি মাত্র হাঁস ছিল, যা প্রতিদিন একটি করে সোনার ডিম দিত।
​প্রতিদিন সকালে কৃষক হাঁসের খোপে গিয়ে একটি সোনার ডিম দেখতে পেত। সে ডিমটি বাজারে বিক্রি করে প্রচুর টাকা পেত এবং অল্পদিনের মধ্যেই বেশ সচ্ছল হয়ে ওঠে। ​কিন্তু লোভী কৃষকের মন এতে ভরল না। সে আরও বেশি ধনী হওয়ার লোভ সামলাতে পারল না। সে ভাবল, “প্রতিদিন একটি করে ডিম পাওয়ার চেয়ে যদি একবারে পেটের সব ডিম পেয়ে যাই, তবে আমি রাতারাতি অনেক বড়লোক হয়ে যাব।”
​এই লোভের বশে অন্ধ হয়ে সে এক রাতে একটি ধারালো ছুরি হাতে খোপের ভেতর প্রবেশ করল। সে একটুও ভাবল না যে হাঁসটি বেঁচে থাকলে প্রতিদিন সে সোনার ডিম পেতে পারত। ​কৃষকটি লোভের আধিক্যে অন্ধ হয়ে নিষ্ঠুরভাবে হাঁসটির পেট কেটে ফেলল। কিন্তু পেটের ভেতর সে কোনো সোনার ডিম দেখতে পেল না, কেবল রক্ত আর মাংস ছাড়া আর কিছুই পেল না। ​তখন সে বুঝতে পারল যে তার অতিরিক্ত লোভের কারণেই সে তার একমাত্র আয়ের উৎসটি চিরদিনের জন্য হারিয়ে ফেলেছে। কিন্তু ততক্ষণে অনেক দেরি হয়ে গেছে। ​কৃষকের মাথায় তখন অনুতাপের আকাশ ভেঙে পড়ল এবং সে নিজের মাথায় হাত দিয়ে বিলাপ করতে লাগল। সে বুঝতে পারল যে, অতিরিক্ত লোভ মানুষের সর্বনাশ ডেকে আনে।

​অনুধাবনমূলক প্রশ্ন:
​প্রশ্ন: কৃষকের করুণ পরিণতির জন্য কোন বিষয়টি দায়ী ছিল এবং এই গল্প থেকে আমরা কী শিক্ষা লাভ করি?

The Greedy Farmer

​Once upon a time, a poor farmer lived in a village. He had a very special duck that laid a golden egg every single day.
​Every morning, the farmer went to the duck coop and found a shiny golden egg. He sold the egg in the market and made a lot of money, becoming quite well-off in a short time.
​However, the greedy farmer’s mind was never satisfied. He could not control his greed for becoming even richer overnight. He thought, “Instead of getting one egg every day, if I cut open its belly, I can get all the eggs at once and become a millionaire.”
​Blinded by this greed, he entered the coop one night with a sharp knife in his hand. He did not even pause to think that as long as the duck lived, he would keep receiving golden eggs daily. ​Overcome by greed, the cruel farmer cut open the belly of the duck. But inside, he found no golden eggs at all—there was nothing except blood and flesh. ​Then he realized that due to his excessive greed, he had lost his only source of income forever. But it was far too late by then. ​The weight of regret crushed the farmer, and he sat down holding his head in despair. He finally understood that excessive greed always leads to ruin and destruction.

​Completing Story (For Class 9-10)
​Directions: Read the beginning of the story below. Complete the story in about 10 sentences based on your own imagination to make it meaningful. ​Complete Story Prompt:

The Greedy Farmer

Once upon a time, there lived a poor farmer in a small village. He had a wonderful duck that laid a golden egg every day. The farmer used to sell the egg and maintain his family. But he was very greedy and wanted to become rich overnight…
(Now complete the story in 10 sentences)

Once upon a time, there lived a poor farmer in a small village. He had a wonderful duck that laid a golden egg every day. The farmer used to sell the egg and maintain his family. But he was very greedy and wanted to become rich overnight. He thought that the duck’s stomach must be full of golden eggs. Without thinking carefully, he decided to kill the duck. One morning, he cut open its belly with a sharp knife. To his great disappointment, he found no golden eggs inside. Instead, he lost the wonderful duck forever. The farmer realized his terrible mistake, but it was too late to correct it. From that day on, he lived in poverty again and learned that greed always brings sorrow.

Moral: Greed brings grief. / Excessive greed leads to ruin.

Completing Story: The Greedy Farmer

Once there lived a poor farmer in a quiet village. He owned a magical duck that laid one golden egg every morning. By selling the golden eggs, he earned enough money to support his family comfortably. After a few months, he became rich, but his greed continued to grow. He wished to get all the golden eggs at once instead of waiting every day. Thinking the duck’s belly was full of gold, he killed it with a sharp knife. Sadly, he found nothing except the ordinary organs of the duck. He understood that his foolish greed had destroyed his greatest treasure. The farmer cried bitterly, but no one could bring the duck back to life. He spent the rest of his life regretting his mistake and warning others never to be greedy.

Moral: Greed is the root of all evil.