How the Peasant Divided the Geese

One poor peasant had run out of bread. So he decided to ask the landlord for some. To have something to bring to the landlord, he caught a goose, roasted it, and took it along. The landlord accepted the goose and said to the peasant: — Thank you, peasant, for the goose; I just don't know how we'll divide your goose. Here I have a wife, two sons, and two daughters. How can we divide the goose without giving offense? The peasant said: — I'll divide it. He took a little knife, cut off the head, and said to the landlord: — You are the head of the whole household — the head is yours. Then he cut off the tail end and gave it to the lady of the house. — For you, — he said, — to sit at home and look after the house — the tail end is yours. Then he cut off the legs and gave them to the sons. — For you, — he said, — the legs — to tread your father's paths. And he gave the wings to the daughters. — You, — he said, — will soon fly out of the house — here is a wing for each of you. And I'll take the leftovers for myself! And he took the whole goose. The landlord laughed and gave the peasant bread and money. A rich peasant heard that the landlord had rewarded the poor peasant with bread and money for a goose, so he roasted five geese and brought them to the landlord. The landlord said: — Thank you for the geese. But here I have a wife, two sons, and two daughters — six of us in all. How can we divide your geese equally? The rich peasant thought and thought and came up with nothing. The landlord sent for the poor peasant and told him to do the dividing. The poor peasant took one goose, gave it to the landlord and his wife, and said: — Here you are, three with a goose. He gave one to the sons: — And you, — he said, — are three. He gave one to the daughters: — And you are three. And he took two geese for himself: — Here, — he said, — we are three with geese too — all equal. The landlord laughed and gave the poor peasant more money and bread, and turned the rich one away.