The Wishing-Table, the Gold-Ass, and the Cudgel in the Sack

Once upon a time there was a tailor who had three sons and only one goat. But since the goat supported them all with her milk, she had to have good food and be taken to pasture every day. The sons took turns doing this.

One day the oldest son took her to the churchyard, where the finest herbs grew, and let her eat and run about. In the evening when it was time to go home, he asked, "Goat, have you had enough?" The goat answered:

"I have eaten so much, Not a leaf more I'll touch, meh! meh!"

"Come home, then," said the youth, and he took the rope around her neck, led her into the stable, and tied her up securely.

"Well," said the old tailor, "has the goat had as much food as she needs?"

"Oh," answered the son, "she has eaten so much, not a leaf more will she touch."

But the father wanted to see for himself, so he went down to the stable, stroked the dear animal, and asked, "Goat, are you satisfied?" The goat answered:

"Wherewithal should I be satisfied? Among the graves I leapt about, And found no food, so went without, meh! meh!"

"What do I hear?" cried the tailor, and ran upstairs and said to the youth, "You liar! You said the goat had enough, but you let her go hungry!" In his anger he took the yardstick from the wall and drove him out with blows.

The next day it was the second son's turn. He found a place in the garden fence where nothing but good herbs grew, and the goat ate them all. In the evening he asked, "Goat, are you satisfied?" The goat answered:

"I have eaten so much, Not a leaf more I'll touch, meh! meh!"

"Come home, then," said the youth, and led her home and tied her up in the stable.

"Well," said the old tailor, "has the goat had enough?"

"Oh," answered the son, "she has eaten so much, not a leaf more will she touch."

The tailor did not trust this, so he went down to the stable and said, "Goat, have you had enough?" The goat answered:

"Wherewithal should I be satisfied? Among the graves I leapt about, And found no food, so went without, meh! meh!"

"The wicked wretch!" cried the tailor. "To let such a good animal go hungry!" He ran up and drove the youth out of doors with the yardstick.

Now it was the third son's turn. He wanted to do the job well, so he looked for bushes with the finest leaves and let the goat devour them. In the evening he asked, "Goat, have you had enough?" The goat answered:

"I have eaten so much, Not a leaf more I'll touch, meh! meh!"

"Come home, then," said the youth, and led her into the stable and tied her up.

"Well," said the old tailor, "has the goat had enough?"

"She has eaten so much, not a leaf more will she touch."

The tailor did not trust that, so he went down and asked, "Goat, have you had enough?" The wicked beast answered:

"Wherewithal should I be satisfied? Among the graves I leapt about, And found no leaves, so went without, meh! meh!"

"Oh, you brood of liars!" cried the tailor. "Each one as wicked and forgetful of his duty as the other! You will not make a fool of me any longer!" Quite beside himself with anger, he ran upstairs and belabored the poor young fellow so hard with the yardstick that he jumped out of the house.

The old tailor was now alone with his goat. The next morning he went down into the stable, caressed the goat, and said, "Come, my dear little animal, I will take you to feed myself." He took her by the rope and led her to green hedges and among yarrow and whatever else goats like to eat. "There you may eat to your heart's content for once," he said, and let her browse until evening. Then he asked, "Goat, are you satisfied?" She replied:

"I have eaten so much, Not a leaf more I'll touch, meh! meh!"

"Come home, then," said the tailor, and led her into the stable and tied her fast. As he was leaving, he turned around again and said, "Well, are you satisfied for once?" But the goat did not behave any better and cried:

"Wherewithal should I be satisfied? Among the graves I leapt about, And found no leaves, so went without, meh! meh!"

When the tailor heard that, he was shocked and saw clearly that he had driven away his three sons without cause. "Wait, you ungrateful creature!" he cried. "It is not enough to drive you out—I will mark you so that you will not dare to show yourself among honest tailors." In great haste he ran upstairs, fetched his razor, lathered the goat's head, and shaved it as clean as the palm of his hand. And since the yardstick was too good for her, he brought the horsewhip and gave her such lashes that she ran away in great haste.

Now the tailor was left all alone in his house. He fell into great grief and would gladly have had his sons back, but no one knew where they had gone.

The oldest son had apprenticed himself to a joiner. He learned industriously and tirelessly, and when it was time for him to travel, his master gave him a little table that did not look special and was made of common wood, but it had one good property: if someone set it out and said, "Little table, spread yourself," the good little table was at once covered with a clean cloth, and there was a plate, a knife and fork beside it, and dishes with boiled meats and roasted meats, as many as there was room for, and a great glass of red wine that shone and made the heart glad.

The young journeyman thought, "With this I have enough for my whole life," and he went joyfully about the world, never worrying whether an inn was good or bad or if anything was to be found in it.

When it suited him, he did not enter an inn at all, but either on the plain, in a wood, a meadow, or wherever he liked, he took his little table off his back, set it down before him, and said, "Cover yourself," and then everything appeared that his heart desired.

At length he thought he would go back to his father, whose anger would now be appeased and who would now willingly receive him with his wishing-table.

On his way home, he came one evening to an inn that was full of guests. They welcomed him and invited him to sit and eat with them, for otherwise he would have difficulty getting anything.

"No," answered the joiner, "I will not take a few bites out of your mouths; rather, you shall be my guests." They laughed and thought he was joking. But he placed his wooden table in the middle of the room and said, "Little table, cover yourself." Instantly it was covered with food so good that the innkeeper could never have provided it, and the smell rose pleasantly to the guests' noses.

"Help yourselves, dear friends," said the joiner, and the guests, seeing he meant it, did not need to be asked twice but drew near, pulled out their knives, and attacked it bravely. What surprised them most was that when a dish became empty, a full one immediately took its place by itself.

The innkeeper stood in a corner and watched; he did not know what to say, but thought, "You could easily use such a cook in your kitchen." The joiner and his friends made merry until late at night; then they lay down to sleep, and the young apprentice set his magic table against the wall.

The innkeeper's thoughts gave him no rest; he remembered that there was a little old table in his lumber room that looked just like the apprentice's, and he brought it out very softly and exchanged it for the wishing-table.

In the morning the joiner paid for his bed, took up his table, never thinking he had a false one, and went on his way.

At midday he reached his father, who received him with great joy. "Well, my dear son, what have you learned?" he said to him.

"Father, I have become a joiner."

"A good trade," replied the old man. "But what have you brought back with you from your apprenticeship?"

"Father, the best thing I have brought back is this little table."

The tailor inspected it on all sides and said, "You did not make a masterpiece when you made that; it is a bad old table."

"But it is a table that sets itself," replied the son. "When I set it out and tell it to cover itself, the most beautiful dishes stand on it, and a wine that gladdens the heart. Just invite all our relatives and friends; they shall refresh and enjoy themselves for once, for the table will give them all they need."

When the company was assembled, he put his table in the middle of the room and said, "Little table, cover yourself." But the little table did not stir and remained as bare as any other table that did not understand language. Then the poor apprentice realized that his table had been swapped, and he was ashamed to stand there like a liar. The relatives, however, mocked him and had to go home without having eaten or drunk. The father brought out his patches again and went on tailoring, but the son went to a master in the craft.

The second son had gone to a miller and apprenticed himself to him. When his years were over, the master said, "Since you have behaved so well, I give you an ass of a peculiar kind, which neither pulls a cart nor carries a sack."

"What use is he, then?" asked the young apprentice.

"He lets gold drop from his mouth," answered the miller. "If you set him on a cloth and say 'Bricklebrit,' the good animal will drop gold pieces for you."

"That is a fine thing," said the apprentice, and he thanked the master and went out into the world. Whenever he needed gold, he had only to say "Bricklebrit" to his ass, and it rained gold pieces, and he had nothing to do but pick them off the ground. Wherever he went, the best of everything was good enough for him, and the dearer the better, for he always had a full purse. After traveling for some time, he thought, "You must seek out your father; if you go to him with the gold-ass, he will forget his anger and receive you well."

It happened that he came to the same inn where his brother's table had been swapped. He led his ass by the bridle, and the innkeeper was about to take the animal and tie him up, but the young apprentice said, "Don't trouble yourself; I will take my gray horse into the stable and tie him up myself, for I must know where he stands." This struck the innkeeper as odd, and he thought that a man who had to look after his own ass could not have much to spend.

But when the stranger put his hand in his pocket and brought out two gold pieces, saying he wanted something good to eat, the innkeeper opened his eyes wide and ran to get the best he could find.

After dinner the guest asked what he owed. The innkeeper, thinking to double the bill, said the apprentice must give two more gold pieces. He felt in his pocket, but his gold was just gone.

"Wait a moment, sir innkeeper," he said, "I will go and fetch some money." But he took the tablecloth with him. The innkeeper could not imagine what that meant, and being curious, he sneaked after him.

When the guest bolted the stable door, the innkeeper peeped through a hole left by a knot in the wood. The stranger spread the cloth under the animal and cried, "Bricklebrit!" Immediately the beast began to let gold pieces fall, so that it rained money on the ground.

"Well, well!" said the innkeeper, "ducats are quickly coined there! Such a purse is not to be sneezed at." The guest paid his bill and went to bed, but in the night the innkeeper stole down to the stable, led away the gold-ass, and tied up another ass in its place.

Early the next morning the apprentice traveled away with his ass, thinking he had his gold-ass. At midday he reached his father, who rejoiced to see him again and gladly took him in. "What have you made of yourself, my son?" asked the old man.

"A miller, dear father," he answered.

"What have you brought back from your travels?"

"Nothing else but an ass."

"There are enough asses here," said the father. "I would rather have had a good goat."

"Yes," replied the son, "but it is no common ass, but a gold-ass. When I say 'Bricklebrit,' the good beast opens its mouth and drops a whole sheetful of gold pieces. Just summon all our relatives, and I will make them rich."

"That suits me well," said the tailor. "Then I will no longer have to torment myself with the needle." And he ran out himself and called the relatives together. As soon as they were assembled, the miller asked them to make way, spread his cloth, and brought the ass into the room.

"Now watch," he said, and cried, "Bricklebrit!" But no gold pieces fell, and it was clear that the animal knew nothing of the art, for not every ass attains such perfection. The poor miller pulled a long face, realized he had been cheated, and begged the relatives' pardon.

They went home as poor as they came. The old tailor had to take up his needle again, and the youth hired himself to a miller.

The third brother had apprenticed himself to a turner, and since that is skilled work, he was the longest in learning. His brothers, however, wrote him a letter telling how badly things had gone and how the innkeeper had cheated them of their wonderful wishing-gifts on the last evening before they reached home. When the turner had served his time and had to set out on his travels, since he had behaved well, his master presented him with a sack and said, "There is a cudgel in it."

"I can put on the sack," said he, "and it may be of good service to me, but why is the cudgel in it? It only makes it heavy."

"I will tell you why," replied the master. "If anyone has done you harm, just say 'Out of the sack, Cudgel!' and the cudgel will leap out among the people and play such a dance on their backs that they will not be able to move for a week, and it will not stop until you say 'Into the sack, Cudgel!"

The apprentice thanked him, put the sack on his back, and when anyone came too close and wanted to attack him, he said, "Out of the sack, Cudgel!" Instantly the cudgel sprang out and dusted one after another on their backs, never stopping until it had stripped off their coats. It was done so quickly that before anyone knew it, it was his own turn.

In the evening the young turner reached the inn where his brothers had been cheated. He laid his sack on the table before him and began to talk of all the wonderful things he had seen.

"Yes," he said, "people may easily find a table that covers itself, a gold-ass, and things of that kind – extremely good things, which I do not despise – but these are nothing compared to the treasure I have won for myself and am carrying about with me in my sack." The innkeeper pricked up his ears.

"What in the world can that be?" he thought. "The sack must be filled with jewels. I ought to get them cheap, for all good things come in threes." When it was time for sleep, the guest stretched out on the bench and laid his sack beneath him as a pillow.

When the innkeeper thought his guest was fast asleep, he went to him and gently tugged at the sack to see if he could pull it away and put another in its place. But the turner had been waiting for this for a long time.

Just as the innkeeper was about to give a good pull, the turner cried, "Out of the sack, Cudgel!" Instantly the little cudgel came forth and fell on the innkeeper, giving him a sound thrashing.

The innkeeper cried for mercy, but the louder he cried, the harder the cudgel beat time on his back, until at last he fell to the ground exhausted. Then the turner said, "If you do not give back the table that covers itself and the gold-ass, the dance will begin again."

"Oh, no!" cried the innkeeper humbly. "I will gladly produce everything, only make the cursed kobold creep back into the sack."

Then the apprentice said, "I will show mercy instead of justice, but beware of getting into mischief again!" So he cried, "Into the sack, Cudgel!" and let him rest.

The next morning the turner went home to his father with the wishing-table and the gold-ass. The tailor rejoiced when he saw him once more and asked him what he had learned in foreign lands.

"Dear father," he said, "I have become a turner."

"A skilled trade," said the father. "What have you brought back from your travels?"

"A precious thing, dear father," replied the son. "A cudgel in the sack."

"What!" cried the father. "A cudgel! That was worth your trouble, indeed! You can cut yourself one from any tree."

"But not one like this, dear father. If I say 'Out of the sack, Cudgel!' the cudgel springs out and leads anyone who means me harm a weary dance, and never stops until he lies on the ground and prays for fair weather. Look, with this cudgel I got back the wishing-table and the gold-ass that the thievish innkeeper took from my brothers. Now let both of them be sent for, and invite all our relatives. I will give them food and drink, and fill their pockets with gold besides."

The old tailor did not quite believe him, but he still gathered the relatives together. Then the turner spread a cloth in the room and led in the gold-ass, and said to his brother, "Now, dear brother, speak to him." The miller said "Bricklebrit," and instantly gold pieces fell on the cloth like a thunder-shower, and the ass did not stop until each person had so much that he could carry no more.

Then the turner brought the little table and said, "Now, dear brother, speak to it." Scarcely had the carpenter said "Table, cover yourself" than it was spread and amply covered with the most exquisite dishes. Then such a meal took place as the good tailor had never known in his house, and the whole party of relatives stayed together until late in the night, and were all merry and glad. The tailor locked away needle and thread, yardstick and goose in a press, and lived with his three sons in joy and splendor.

Now what became of the goat that was to blame for the tailor driving out his three sons? I will tell you. She was ashamed that she had a bald head, so she ran to a fox's hole and crept into it. When the fox came home, he saw two great eyes shining in the darkness, was terrified, and ran away. A bear met him, and seeing the fox looking disturbed, he said, "What is the matter, brother Fox? Why do you look like that?"

"Ah," answered Redskin, "a fierce beast is in my cave and stared at me with fiery eyes."

"We will soon drive him out," said the bear, and went with him to the cave and looked in. But when he saw the fiery eyes, he too was seized with fear; he wanted nothing to do with the furious beast and took to his heels. A bee met him, and seeing that he was uneasy, she said, "Bear, you are pulling a very pitiful face. What has become of your gaiety?"

"It is all very well for you to talk," replied the bear. "A furious beast with staring eyes is in Redskin's house, and we cannot drive him out."

The bee said, "I pity you, bear. I am a poor weak creature that you would not turn aside to look at, but still, I believe I can help you." She flew into the fox's cave, landed on the goat's smoothly shorn head, and stung her so violently that the goat sprang up, crying "Meh, meh!" and ran forth into the world as if mad. And to this hour no one knows where she has gone.