A long time ago, a boy got a bull from his uncle as a present. In the old days, bulls were very useful and an important financial asset in farming families. Of course, the boy was delighted to receive such a lavish, unexpected gift. He started to walk home with the bull, and was soon dripping with sweat as the animal was too big for the young boy. On the road, a fish seller on a horse saw the boy and said, “It’s too much for a small boy like you to drag a large bull. Why don’t you ride my horse and give me your bull instead?”

The boy thought the fishmonger was right. He gave his bull to the man and rode on the horse. While going up a hill, the horse was gasping for breath. At the top of the hill, the boy saw a silk trader with a goat. The silk man looked at the boy’s horse with pitiful eyes. “Boy, why is your horse so weak and breathless? I don’t think the poor animal will live long. I’ll tell you what. I want to help you by trading my goat for your horse. As you may already know, it is pretty easy to raise a goat. What is better, you can get goat milk as well. What a useful animal!” Upon hearing this, the boy was all smiles. He quickly handed over the reins of his horse to the silk trader and took the goat in return.

While the boy was coming down from the hill with the goat, he bumped into an egg seller. Staring at the goat, the egg seller clicked his tongue. “This scraggy, old goat must be sick or something. I bet it will die sooner or later.” The boy was startled. “What? No, no. I thought I would raise this goat well and get some milk. It shouldn’t die.” The egg seller said soothingly, “No need to worry. I think I can take good care of the goat. Don’t you want to give it to me and save the miserable animal? In return, I’ll give you these ten eggs in a straw wrapper. I guarantee they are very fresh. If they are kept warm enough, they could hatch out chicks! You can raise the chicks and even sell them at the market. They will certainly pay you well.” For the little boy, that was really a tempting offer. Without hesitation, he passed the goat on to the egg seller in exchange for ten eggs.

The boy continued walking briskly, with the eggs in his hand. Far off in the distance, he saw the village where his family lived. He also saw a woman coming toward him. She was carrying a bundle on her head. She smiled at the boy and passed a friendly remark. “Kid, I’m a peddler selling women’s things. I have a lot of interesting items here. Why don’t you exchange your eggs with one of my things, like a needle? Your mother will love this needle. You know what? Eggs are everywhere, but needles are not. Let’s trade your eggs for my needle. What do you say?” The boy already decided to do so when the woman said his mother would like the needle.

Now, with a needle in his hand, the boy ran toward the house. He was cheerful at the thought of his happy mother. He was crossing a stream on steppingstones, when he dropped the needle by accident. He carefully looked into the water, but he couldn’t find the small needle in the running water. Disappointed and frustrated, he left.

So, what happened to the boy in the end? A bull was replaced by a horse. The horse was traded for a goat. The goat was exchanged for eggs. The eggs were switched with a needle, which fell into the water and vanished. The foolish boy simply followed what others said and ended up empty-handed.