49 THE LAD WHO WENT TO THE NORTH WIND

I

Once there was a woman who was very poor. One day she sent her only son to the pantry to get some meal.

As the lad got the meal, along came the North Wind, puffing and blowing. He caught up the meal, and away it went through the air.

Then the lad went back to the pantry for some more meal. Along came the North Wind again. He caught up the meal with a puff, and away it went again.

The lad went back the third time for some meal, and the third time the North Wind puffed it away.

Then the lad became angry. “I will go to the North Wind and make him give me back my meal! ”he said.

He walked and walked, until at last he came to the North Wind's house.

“Good-day, North Wind! ”said the lad.

“Good-day! ”said the North Wind, in a gruff voice. “What do you want? ”

“I want you to give me back the meal you took from me, ”said the lad. “We are poor, and we need it.”

“Your meal is not here, ”said the North Wind, “But since you are poor, I will give you this cloth. When you want food, you must say, ‘Cloth, spread yourself. Serve up some good things to eat.' Then you will have all the food you want.”

“Thank you, North Wind, ”said the lad, “That is better than the meal.”

So he set out for home.

The way was so long that he could not get home in one day. When evening came, he went to an inn to stay all night.

“How hungry my long walk has made me! ”he said to himself. “I will put my cloth on the table, as the North Wind told me to do.”

Then he said, “Cloth, spread yourself. Serve up good things to eat.”

The cloth did as it was told, and the lad had a fine supper. All the people in the inn said, “What a wonderful cloth! ”The inn-keeper said to himself, “I should like to have this cloth.”

So when the lad was asleep he took it away, and put another cloth in its place. It looked just like the cloth from the North Wind, but it could not serve up even a dry crust.

In the morning the lad took the cloth, and went off with it. That day he got home to his mother.

“Where have you been, and what is that cloth which you are bringing home with you? ”asked his mother.

“Oh, I have been to the North Wind's house. I went to get the meal back, ”said the lad, “but he told me that he did not have our meal.

“He gave me this cloth, instead. Whenever I say, ‘Cloth, spread yourself. Serve up good things to eat, ' I get all the food I want.”

“That may be true, ”said his mother, “But I shall not believe it until I see it with my own eyes.”

So the lad laid the cloth on the table and said, “Cloth, spread yourself. Serve up good things to eat.”But the cloth did not serve up even a dry crust.The lad was so surprised that he could not say a word. How his mother laughed at him!

II

“I must go to the North Wind again, ”said the lad. Away he went.

“What do you want now? ”said the North Wind, when the lad knocked at his door.

“I want my meal, ”said the lad, “This cloth is not worth a penny.”

“I have no meal, ”said the North Wind, “but I will give you this ram. It makes money. Just say, ‘Ram, ram! make money! ' Then you shall have all the gold you want. ”

“That is better than meal, ”said the lad.

So off he went, and he stayed at the inn that night, too. After supper he wanted to see if the North Wind was right.

As soon as he said, “Ram, ram! make money! ”he had all the gold he wanted.

When the inn-keeper saw the ram making money, he said to himself, “I want that ram.”He had a ram that looked just like this one, so he took the lad's ram and put his own ram in its place.

In the morning the lad went away. When he got home he said to his mother, “After all, the North Wind is a good fellow. Now he has given me a ram that can make gold. I say, ‘Ram, ram! make money! ' Then I have all the gold I want.”

“That may be true, ”said his mother, “But I shall believe it when I see the gold.”

“Ram, ram! make money! ”said the lad. But the ram did not make even a penny. The lad's mother laughed at him this time, too.

So the lad went to the North Wind again. “I want my meal, ”he said, “The ram you gave me is not worth a penny.”

“I have no meal, ”said the North Wind. “I have nothing to give you except this old stick. When you say, ‘Stick, stick! lay on! ' it will lay on. When you want it to stop, you must say,‘Stick, stick! stop! ”’

So the lad took the stick and went to the inn again. He said to himself, “I think I know who has my cloth and my ram. I will see if I can get them back.”

So he lay down on a bench. “I will keep so still that I shall seem to be asleep, ”he said, “But I will keep a very close watch.”

By and by the inn-keeper saw the stick. He said, “I have a wonderful cloth and a wonderful ram. Perhaps this is a wonderful stick. I think I will take it.”

So he went away and found a stick that looked like the stick from the North Wind. Then he came back to change the two sticks.

Then the lad said, “Stick, stick! lay on! ”The stick began to beat the inn-keeper. He jumped over tables and benches, but he could not get away from the stick.

“Lad, lad, stop the stick! ”he cried, “You shall have your cloth and your ram.”

So the lad said, “Stick, stick! stop! ”

Then he took the cloth and the ram and the stick, and went home.

He said, “The North Wind has paid me well for my meal. This time my mother cannot laugh at me.”

(Norse Tale)

Word list

lad: a young boy

pantry: a storage area for kitchen supplies

You Practice

A) Answer the following questions.

1) What kind of meal did the North Wind keep taking from the boy?

2) What did the boy do after the North Wind took the meal for the third time?

3) Was it a good idea for the boy to use the cloth while staying at the inn? Why or why not?

4) Why did the boy not realize that the cloth was gone?

5) How did the boy's mother react when he tried to use the cloth, but it didn't work?

6) What were the other two things the North Wind gave the boy to replace the meal?

7) Why did the boy go back to the inn after he was given the third gift?

8) What do you think the mother's reaction will be this time?

B) Fill in the blanks—Read the sentences carefully and fill in the blanks with words from the story.

1) The lad went to the North Wind to get his m _ _ _ back.

2) The first thing the North Wind gave the lad was a c _ _ _ _.

3) The cloth was stolen by the i _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _.

4) The lad's mother l _ _ _ _ _ _ at him.

5) The innkeeper was beaten with a s _ _ _ _ .

C) True or false? Read these sentences carefully. Write true or false for each one.

1) _____ The North Wind laughed at the lad.

2) _____ The North Wind returned the lad's meal.

3) _____ The lad's mother visited the innkeeper.

4) _____ The innkeeper laughed at the North Wind.

5) _____ The innkeeper returned the cloth and the ram to the lad.