THE TWO GEESE

Two geese were once the best of friends. So much so that they almost shared the same nest between the two of them. One day the one goose laid an egg and when she sat warming the egg the next morning, her friend happened by and said ‘But isn’t that my egg that you’re sitting on. I can swear that I also laid one last night.’ ‘No. It’s mine!’ her friend hissed back angrily in response to her claim. ‘But I’m sure that you might be mistaken. That egg must certainly belong to me.’ said the other goose, much affronted. ‘I assure you it is mine, and no other.’ came the angry reply again. ‘It’s mine,’ said the other. ‘No. It is surely mine.’ came the short and curt reply. And so they bickered and fought all day about to whom the egg actually belonged to after all. As soon as the one that was sitting on the egg got up and went to feed at the food tray, she would return a short while later, only to find the other goose sitting happily on her egg, hatching it as if it was her own. They fought day and night, and soon no one in the flock knew whose egg it actually was. One bright and early day the little egg broke open in the clear morning sun and the cutest little gooselet ever came stumbling forth, giving awkward little baby steps as it went. ‘My baby’ said the one goose ‘No, mine!’ replied the other with an angry hiss. The little baby goose looked at the one mother and said ‘Momma!’ in the most loved way. Then he looked at her friend and replied ‘Momma!’ too to the other goose. The little one seemed to think that he had two mothers now, and that was indeed the case. How could they keep on arguing and fighting with the little one at stake. They decided then and there to bury the hatchet and from that day forward the lovely little baby goose had two mothers in the flock. It was the happiest little child forever, and papa gander just smiled and shook his head. ‘Woman! Who could ever understand them,’ he said to himself. And they all lived happily ever after.