Jul 21, 2010
When Samuel reached for their snack, he found a magnificent sweet cake and a large bottle of cider for them to share. "My, look at this," said Samuel. "I am glad I have much more than stale bread to share with you." When they finished their tasty meal, the old man told Samuel, "You shared your goods with me, and for that I am grateful. Now you will have good luck to go with your kind heart." The little man pointed at an old tree nearby. "Cut down that tree and you'll find something special there in its roots." Then the man walked away without another word. Samuel was puzzled, but did as the old man had said. Samuel raised his ax and cut down the tree. When the tree fell, more than just a stump remained. Samuel found a goose sitting among the roots. This was no ordinary goose. Its feathers were made of gold! "What a wonderful surprise!" shouted Samuel. He had never seen anything like this before. He picked up the goose. Sure enough, its feathers were pure gold. Samuel took the goose and hurried into town. He had to show this goose to everyone he knew. Samuel was proud as he carried this goose through town. He passed an inn, and the innkeeper's three curious daughters came out to see the bird. Each of the three daughters wanted to take one of the goose's golden feathers to keep. When Samuel stopped to show off the golden goose to the three sisters, the oldest sister tiptoed behind Samuel and tugged at the goose's wing. her hand stuck there so tightly that she could not move it away. She waved to her sisters for their help. The sisters thought that together they could surely pluck out three gold feathers. They joined hands to pull. Instead, the three sisters found they were all stuck to each other! The sisters hushed their worried squeals and scurried behind Samuel, who never noticed the girls hanging on behind. He marched for the next town to share his goose's beauty with anyone who wished to behold it. Samuel hurried through a field on his way to the next town. The three stuck girls followed closely behind.