The North Wind's Gifts
once upon a time there was a woman who had one son. As she was old and feeble, her son had to go to the store-house to fetch the meal for their porridge.
As he was leaving the store-house with a bag of meal on his back, up came the North Wind puffing and blowing. He caught up the meal and away he went with it through the air.
The lad went back into the store-house for more; but when he came out again on the steps, the North Wind carried off the meal as he had done before. More than that, he did so the third time.
At this the lad became very angry and made up his mind to go and see the Nor Wind, so that he might ask him to give bad the meal.
The way was long and he walked and walked but at last he came to the North Wind's house ' Good-day,' said the lad, 'and thank you for coming to see us yesterday.'
Good-day,' answered the North Wind. and his voice was loud and gruff. ' Thanks for coming to see me. What do you want? '
'Oh,' replied the lad, ' I only wished to ask you to give me back the meal which you took from me yesterday. You see we haven't much to live on, and if you snap up the little that we have, we shall starve without a doubt.'
I haven't got your meal,' declared the North Wind. ' However, if you are in such need, here is a cloth which will provide everything you want if you only say, " Cloth, spread yourself, and serve up all kinds of good dishes! "
The lad was very well pleased at this. As the way home was long and he could not reach there in one day, he turned into an inn for the night. When he was going to sit down the supper, he laid the cloth on a table in the cornea and said, ' Cloth, spread yourself and serve up all kinds of good dishes! '
He had scarcely spoken when the cloth did as it was bidden. The table was covered wit splendid food of every kind.
All who stood by thought what a fine clot this was, but most of all the inn-keeper's wife So in the middle of the night when everyone was fast asleep, she took the lad's cloth an put another just like it in its place. Yet the cloth could not serve up so much as a bit of dry bread.
When the lad woke he took the cloth an went off with it, and that day he reached his mother's home.
' Now,' said he, ' I've been to the North Wind's house. A good fellow he is too, for he gave me this cloth. When I say to it, " Cloth, spread yourself and serve up all kinds of goo dishes! " it provides any sort of food I want,
' All very true I dare say,' said his mother but I shall not believe it till I see it.'
So the lad made haste, laid the cloth on the table and said, ' Cloth, spread yourself an serve up all kinds of good dishes! ' Yet never a bit of dry bread did the cloth serve up.
' Did I not say that seeing is believing said the boy's mother.
' Well, there's no help for it but to go to the North Wind again,' said the lad; and away he went.
1. Why did the boy visit the North Wind?
2. What gift did the North Wind give him?
3. What happened to this gift?
