Once upon a time, there lived a widow with her young son. One day, the boy fetched some meal for his mother but the North Wind blew and took it away.
The boy went back and got some more meal, but again the North Wind blew it away. This happened three times till the boy was really angry. He decided to go to the North Wind and get the meal back.
After walking for many miles, he reached the house of the North Wind.
“What do you want?” roared the North Wind.
“I have come to get back the meal you took away from me!” said the boy, “It was for my mother!”
The North Wind gave the boy a blue tablecloth, saying, “Take this, my boy. When you spread it, it will give you any dish that you desire!”
The boy took it and went off. But as he was tired, he stopped at an inn to rest. He told the landlord all about the North Wind and the tablecloth. The landlord fed him and when the boy fell asleep, he took away his magical cloth and put an ordinary one in its place.
When the boy showed the tablecloth to his mother at home, there was no magic in it! The boy went back to the North Wind.
This time the North Wind gave the boy a ram. Every time it shook itself, a rain of golden coins fell from it! The boy stopped at the inn to rest. There, as he ate his dinner, he told the landlord all about the ram that showered gold coins. When the boy fell asleep, the greedy landlord stole the magical ram and replaced it with an ordinary one.
Once again, the boy reached home and found that there was nothing magic about the ram. He returned to the house of the North Wind and told him all that had happened.
The wise North Wind gave a stout cudgel to the boy, telling him, “Pretend to sleep when the landlord enters your room. Say, ‘Beat him, stick!’ and see what happens!”
The boy did what the North Wind said. As the landlord crept into his room at night, the boy said, “Beat him, stick!”
The cudgel thrashed the landlord soundly till he howled. He quickly returned the tablecloth and the ram. The boy went home carrying all the things. His mother and he lived very comfortably and peacefully thereafter.
