Quote Originally Posted by Deborski View Post
OK, here is my latest attempt to translate a simple fable into the more complex Russian language. I hear the story is about a chicken in Russia, instead of a goose. Is that true?


Гусыня, которая несла золотые яйца
I'm about to log off from my computer, but just a quick comment. As far as I know, "to lay (an egg)" generally uses the verb класть/положить -- the same verb pair that means, in general, "to lay" in the sense of "to place in a horizontal position." The imperfective класть conjugates кладу, кладёшь..., so "The goose who lays the golden eggs" could be translated Гусыня, которая кладёт золотые яйца. Or you could use the feminine imperfective past tense клала ("she would lay; she was laying").

Also, it's certainly correct to say муж и жена, but just for style reasons I would suggest старик и старуха ("little old man and little old woman"), since these are kinda "stock characters" in fairy tales.