There was a poor woman who had a single hen, and that hen laid an egg for her every day without fail.
But the woman wanted the hen to lay even more eggs, so she gave the hen more food to eat.
"If I give her twice as much food, she will lay twice as many eggs!" thought the woman.
But it was just the opposite: as the hen got fatter and fatter, she laid fewer and fewer eggs, until finally she laid no eggs at all.
Those who desire to possess more might instead lose what little they had.
Inspired by: Mille Fabulae et Una, a collection of Latin fables that I've edited, free to read online. I am not translating the Latin here; instead, I am just telling a 100-word version of the fable.
Notes: This is fable 982 in the book, which is Perry 58.
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