There lived an old man and an old woman, and they had a hen called Ryaba. One day, the hen hatched an egg—not a simple egg, but a golden one. The old man tried to break it, but could not; the old woman tried to break it, but could not. A mouse was running by, swang its tail, the egg fell and broke. The old man is crying, the old woman is crying. "Don't cry", says Ryaba the hen, "I'll hatch you a new egg, not a golden egg, but a simple one".