proverb · Source-linked selection
On Valentine's day will a good goose lay, If she be a good goose, her dame well to pay, She will lay two eggs before Valentine's day.
On Valentine's day will a good goose lay, If she be a good goose, her dame well to pay, She will lay two eggs before Valentine's day.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying expects a good goose to lay by Valentine’s Day, with two earlier eggs making it rewarding to its keeper. A calendar milestone is paired with a judgment of usefulness.
What the words are saying
Good is measured by the hoped-for production, and well to pay gives the keeper’s return a place in the verse. A careful reading identifies the expected dates and count without treating them as universal animal behaviour. The rhyme does not establish a standard for every bird or a verified method of managing poultry.
Everyday example
A reader records the calendar expectation and the keeper’s perspective without using the verse as a production schedule.
When to use it
Use it to discuss a calendar-based expectation in poultry lore.
Put a useful idea into practice: try the free seven-day guide ↗
What it does not mean
The count, timing and implied return are not independently verified husbandry guidance.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 1695 · Valentine's day
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English