THE PLENTIFUL TABLECLOTH 341

The fool thought of his brothers and exchanged the table-
cloth for the wand, after which they both went on their
respective ways.

Suddenly the fool remembered that the oak had ordered
him to keep the tablecloth for his own use, and that by part-
ing with it he had lost the power of giving his mother an
agreeable surprise. So he said to the wand:

“ Thou self-propelling, ever willing, fighting Wand,
Run quick and bring
My feast-providing tablecloth back to my hand,
Thy praise I’ll sing.”

The wand went off like an arrow after the old man,
quickly overtook him, and throwing itself upon him began to
beat him dreadfully, crying out in a loud voice:

“ For others’ goods you seem to have a liking,
Stop, thief, or sure your back I'll keep on striking.”

The poor beggar tried to run away, but it was of no use,
for the wand followed him, striking all the time and repeating
the same words over and over again. So in spite of his
anxiety to keep the tablecloth he was forced to throw it away
and flee.

The wand brought the cloth back to the fool, who again
went on his way towards home, thinking of the surprise in
store for his mother and brothers. He had not gone very far
when a traveller, carrying an empty wallet, accosted him,
saying, “For the love of God, give me a small coin or a
morsel of food, for my bag is empty and I am very hungry.
I have, too, a long journey before me.”