Daily Parable: The Milkmaid and Her Pail

Today’s daily parable draws a critical life lesson from the tale of a milkmaid and her pail. She was on her way to the market to make some sales when a distraction happened.

Molly was an efficient milkmaid who always loved to dream about the future, like most of us. One day, Molly had reported to the farm to carry out her usual duty of milking the cows.

Her daily job was to milk the cows into a full pail and then take the milk to the market to sell to people from the neighboring towns. Every time Molly made her trip to the market, she always thought about spending her money.

On this fateful day, after milking the cows, Molly took her pail and was on her way to the market. As usual, she began to think of all the things she wanted to buy to make her feel so happy.

She thought of purchasing a cake alongside a basket full of strawberries, but the thought soon left her mind when she walked a few miles and spotted small poultry filled with chickens.

Molly paused and thought to herself, “With the money I get from today, I’m going to buy a chicken of my own. That chicken will lay eggs. Then I will be able to sell milk and eggs and get more money!”

Molly continued thinking about her plans and how all the money from selling milk and eggs can be put to good use. She imagined using the profit to buy the best dress in town to make the other milkmaid jealous.

The joy of her fantasy cause a skip to form in her legs, but Molly forgot that she was carrying a pail of milk. Soon enough, the milk started spilling onto her dress, and in no time, her dress was drenched and the bucket empty.

Once she realized that the milk was wasted, Molly thought to herself, “Oh no! I will never have enough money to buy a chicken now.” So she went home with her empty pail, crying all the way until she ran into her mother.

Once her mother noticed Molly was distraught, she asked what happened, and the girl narrated her experience. The mother sighed and then said, “Oh, Molly, my dear. How many times do I need to say, 'Don’t count your chickens until they hatch?'”