CS01-TheGoldenSwan

Inspiration & Credit: https://childhood-stories.com  Tamil stories A golden swan once lived in a lake near a village and was believed to be the reincarnation of a farmer from that same village. One day, the farmer's wife came to the lake to fetch some water. Upon seeing his former wife drawing water from the lake, the golden swan spoke to her, saying, "I am your deceased husband, reborn as a golden swan in this life. I wish to assist you and our children." The wife inquired, "How can you help us?" The golden swan replied, "You can pluck one of my golden feathers every day, sell it, and use the proceeds to meet all our needs and necessities." The woman agreed, saying, "Your advice sounds wise. From now on, we shall face no hardships." Each day, she secretly visited the lake, collected a golden feather, and returned home. With the earnings from the golden feathers, she constructed a magnificent and opulent house, and she hired help to handle the daily chores. However, one day, she began to ponder what might happen if the golden swan were to disappear. The following day, she told the golden swan, "Come with me and live in our house. We will take excellent care of you." The swan accepted the proposal, following the woman back to the house, eager to see the children. The woman arranged a place for the swan to reside in the backyard. Over time, the swan grew old, and the woman found it increasingly difficult to pluck a feather each day. She decided to pull out all the feathers at once and said to the swan, "It's becoming too challenging to pluck just one feather daily. I think I will take as many as I can in a single day." The golden swan warned, "I can only give you one golden feather per day." Ignoring the warning, the woman forcibly plucked all the golden feathers. To her shock, the once-golden feathers transformed into ordinary swan feathers. The plucked bird said to her, "I could only provide one golden feather each day. You disregarded my advice." In a fit of anger, the woman picked up the plucked swan and cast it out of her house. Saddened by the woman's mistreatment, the bird waddled back to the lake. The woman squandered all her wealth and fell back into poverty. Without the swan's assistance, she was left destitute. The story serves as a reminder that when fortune is kind and generous, it should not be squandered.