Aesop's Fables

The Cock and the Jewel

A COCK, scratching for food for himself and his hens, found a
precious stone and exclaimed:  “If your owner had found thee, and
not I, he would have taken thee up, and have set thee in thy
first estate; but I have found thee for no purpose.  I would
rather have one barleycorn than all the jewels in the world.”