Ok.. Not to sound repetitive as the discussion over the Bears but, I always thought it was the Golden Goose? I have even heard duck but, hen? I hope by hen it is not going to show a chicken! That will be weird LOL

Wow... Well... I guess the things we learn from Fairyland! I suppose in other countries in may be called a Golden Hen? I have not Googled this or anything yet. However, I did indeed enjoy the stories from around the world that the name-related thread over the Bears generated so, I am curious...

I will say that whether hen or goose, as long as it visits my garden at some point I will be happy!

Happy Hunting all!!

There are several threads about this already, and it is indeed the golden hen. I have never heard it any other way myself. The golden goose is from a different story altogether. :-)

And I'm American, just for reference. :-)

Definitely hen!

I am American too and have never heard of a golden hen... guess I was read the wrong book growing up :) Never herd of another fairytale with a golden bird at all... hmmm... I guess there are many...

Definitely a hen! lol

LOL Well from what little research I just did.. I see both a golden goose and hen.. and  a version that does not reference a bird of any sort just the harp... Been many years since I read a fairytale before fairyland... wow... that's funny!

Jack is a young lad living with his widowed mother. Their only means of income is a cow. When this cow stops giving milk one morning, Jack is sent to the market to sell it. On the way to the market he meets an old man who offers to give him "magic" beans in exchange for the cow.

Jack takes the beans but when he arrives home without money, his mother becomes furious and throws the beans out the window and sends Jack to bed without supper.

As Jack sleeps, the beans grow into a gigantic beanstalk. Jack climbs the beanstalk and arrives in a land high up in the sky where he follows a road to a house, which is the home of a giant. He enters the house and asks the giant's wife for food. She gives him food, but the giant returns and senses that a human is nearby:
Fee-fi-fo-fum!I smell the blood of an Englishman,Be he alive, or be he dead,I'll have his bones to grind my bread.[3]
However, Jack is hidden by the giant's wife and overhears the giant counting his money. Jack steals a bag of gold coins as he makes his escape down the beanstalk.

Jack repeats his journey up the beanstalk two more times, each time he is helped by the increasingly suspicious wife of the giant and narrowly escapes with one of the giant's treasures. The second time, he steals a HEN THAT LAYS GOLDEN EGGS and the third time a magical harp that plays by itself. This time, he is almost caught by the giant who follows him down the beanstalk. Jack calls his mother for an axe and chops the beanstalk down, killing the giant. The end of the story has Jack and his mother living happily ever after with their new riches.

The book my dad always read to me when I was little was the golden goose and also when they reference it in Shrek it's a goose as well. You're not alone, I thought the same thing. Lol (Missouri)