A Fable for Our Times

Barry and his friends Nancy, Harry, and Barney discovered a wonderful goose.

The goose laid an egg of solid gold every day.

There was enough gold in that egg to provide for their reasonable expenses, with enough left enough for goose feed, too.

But one day, Barney had a better idea. "Let's not feed the goose too much," he said. "Let's strictly limit the amount of feed the goose can have. After all, we're paying for it."

So they had even more money to spend, and Barry and his friends were happy.

But only for a little while.

They began to think about all the other things they wanted to have.

And they decided they had to have them right now.

"Why should we wait for one measly golden egg a day?" asked Nancy.

"you're right," Barry said. "At the rate of one egg a day, she lays 365 eggs a year. There must be hundreds and hundreds of eggs in there."

"If we could get all those eggs right now," Harry said, "Just think of what we could for the common good."

So Barry and Barney and Nancy and Harry killed the goose, and cut her open, so they could take out all of her eggs.

But there were no eggs inside the goose. All they found were the inner workings of the goose's anatomy.

But they didn't work anymore. And Barry, Barney, Nancy, and Harry never saw another golden egg. Ever again.