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Tale Summary

A weak old widow has one son who goes to the safe to get food for her to cook. As he starts down the steps, the North Wind appears and sweeps away the food. The boy retrieves more food, but the North Wind takes it away again, and then a third time. Angered, the lad sets out to find the North Wind to ask him to return the food.

After walking a long distance, the boy arrives at the North Wind’s house. He asks the North Wind to give him back the food he took since they are poor and will be left to starve. The North Wind tells him that he does not have the food, but he can give the boy a cloth that will bring him whatever food he requests.

The lad is satisfied and begins the journey home. He finds an inn to stay in for the night, spreads out the cloth on a table, and asks it to serve him all kinds of food. The landlady witnesses the food appear. While the lad is asleep, she takes the North Wind’s cloth and leaves an ordinary cloth in its place.

When the lad arrives home, he tells his mother about the cloth from the North Wind and its power to give him any food he wishes. His mother will not believe this until she sees it for herself. The lad puts the cloth on the table and commands it to serve him good food, but no food appears.

The lad returns to the North Wind and asks him to return the meal that was swept away because the cloth is worthless. The North Wind again says that he does not have the meal, but offers him a ram that can make golden ducats when ordered to “make money.” When he stops at the inn, the landlord takes the North Wind’s ram and exchanges it with an ordinary ram. The lad tells his mother that the ram can make money, but she will not believe it until she sees it for herself.

When the ram makes no money, the lad returns to the North Wind again and tells him that the ram is worthless. This time, the North Wind gives him a stick that will beat someone on command. The lad suspects that the cloth and the ram were stolen, so when he goes to the inn this time, he only pretends to be asleep. The landlord comes up to take the stick, but just before he can steal it, the lad commands the stick to “lay on,” and it beats the landlord. The landlord begs for the beating to stop and says he will return the cloth and the ram. The lad commands the stick to stop and then returns home with the cloth, the ram, and the stick.

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