Dividing of the Goose

Once upon a time, there lived a very poor family. One day they ran out of all the food they had, even though they lived a humble life and never wasted anything. The head of the family told his wife to roast the last goose they had in the yard.

“When you have roasted it,” the father said, “I will offer it to the earl. Maybe he’ll exchange it for a bit of flour. Then we can bake bread that will last us so much longer than the goose would.”

And so his wife roasted the goose, put it in a wicker basket, and gave it to her husband. The peasant took the goose, shut the door behind him and set off toward the earl’s castle. When he arrived, he offered the goose as a gift. Of course, as we know, he was secretly hoping the earl would take pity on him and give him some flour.

“Thank you for the gift, my good man,” the earl said. “But I don’t know how to divide the goose evenly! I have a wife, two sons and two daughters. What do you think I should do?” he asked, wondering how the peasant would manage it.

The peasant gave it some thought.

“Well!” he said. “You’re the head of the family, so you’ll get the head,” he said and handed it to the earl.

“You’re the lady of the house,” he said to the earl’s wife. “You sit at home and watch over everything when the earl is away.” And he cut off the backside and handed it to the lady.

The legs went to the sons, so they could better walk the world when going on an adventure. The wings he gave to the daughters, so…