The Magic Tray
(Vietnam)
Once upon a time there was a poor man who made his living selling wood at the local market. One day the poor man went into the forest to gather some wood when he came upon a beautiful tree that would provide highly marketable wood. As he swung his axe to chop the tree a spirit came out and begged him to spare the tree.
The poor man explained “I am sorry, but if I do not cut down this tree I will not be able to provide food for my family. I have no other talents or means of producing an income.”
“If you will agree to spare this tree, which is my home, I will give you a gift so wonderful that you will never need to worry about food again,” replied the spirit.
The poor man eagerly agreed and the spirit produced a wooden tray.
“Strike this tray three times and it will produce as much food as you need” the spirit instructed. “But, be sure to go straight home and tell no one of this magic gift.”
So the poor man headed for home, but it was a long journey so he decided to stop at an inn for the night. When he was there he grew hungry so he tapped the tray three times and instantly the tray produced a very fine meal. Though the poor man did not know it, the innkeeper had seen this and wanted the tray for his own use. So while the poor man slept, the innkeeper stole the tray and replaced it with an ordinary tray.
The next day, the poor man woke up, packed his tray and returned home. When he arrived he was so excited that he gathered his family around to see the marvelous wooden tray that would feed them for the rest of their lives. But when he struck the tray three times nothing happened.
The man returned to the forest in a rage. He began to swing his axe at the tree when the spirit appeared and questioned him.
“Why are you attempting to destroy this tree? Weren’t you satisfied with the gift I gave you?”
“That gift only worked one time for me, now it behaves as an ordinary wooden tray,” replied the poor man.
“That should not be! But as I can do nothing about that now, I will give you a second gift if you promise to spare this tree.”
The poor man agreed, and the spirit produced a fine looking horse.
“Strike this horse two times and instead of manure you will find gold. But, go straight home and do not tell a soul about this magical gift” the spirit warned.
The poor man was very excited about this and left for home. However, again it was a long way to travel and the man was so tired that he decided to room again at the same inn as the night before.
The innkeeper recognized him from the previous night and suspected that he might have more curious and valuable magical items so he welcomed him in and fed him. Before turning in for the night, the innkeeper inquired about the horse and where the poor man intended to board him for it would cost extra to stable it for the night.
“I only hope that this will not be too much of a financial burden for you” said the innkeeper.
“Oh, I am not worried about that, this horse shits gold!” boasted the poor man. He struck the horse two times and the innkeeper marveled to see that it produced plenty of money to board it for the night.
The innkeeper crept to the stable while the poor man slept and replaced the magic horse with a regular horse and in the morning the poor man got up, packed up the horse and returned home. He was excited to show his family so he gathered them all together, but when he struck the horse it produced a pile of manure. Outraged, the man stormed off into the forest and swung his axe at the tree again.
“Oh it’s you again! Why are you trying to cut down my tree? Didn’t we have an agreement?” asked the spirit.
“This time was no different than before – I struck the horse two times as you instructed and it produced gold, but when I got home it was full of shit!” the poor man exclaimed.
“Ah, I see now. I warned you to go straight home, but you didn’t heed my advice. This time I will give you a gift that will return the other lost gifts to you.”
And the spirit produced a bronze tube.
“Strike this tube to the ground once and you will find that thieves and liars will be at your mercy.”
So the poor man took the tube and headed for home. On his way he got tired and decided to room at the same inn as the previous two nights. The innkeeper was curiously glad to see him and the poor man grew suspicious because he noticed that there was a table full of food in the inn and the inn itself was extravagantly decorated. So the poor man struck the tube to the ground and instantly the innkeeper fell to his back paralyzed.
“I want my stuff back. Tell me where to get my tray and my horse or I’ll beat you to death in front of all these people with this tube!”
The innkeeper told him and the poor man returned home with his magic tray and his horse. And he keeps the bronze tube hung over the mantle as a reminder to all those who know him not to steal.
“Gifts of the North Wind”
(Norway)
*This is one version of the story, another may be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rcgzQpsWYs
Long ago in Norway a little boy lived with his invalid mother. They were very poor and in the winter, where it stays dark and bitter cold, the only thing they could afford to eat was bread. Every day the little boy would go to the shed and get just enough grain to make one loaf of bread. One morning when he was returning to the house with a bowl full of grain the aggressive North Wind blew so hard it knocked the bowl out of the boys hands and all of the grain was blown away. The boy returned to the shed for another portion and again the North Wind blew it from his hands. This made the boy nervous, because he knew that they did not have any grain to spare. This time, he resolved to be more careful. But as he was traveling back to the house holding extra tight to the bowl in his hands, the North Wind blew again and this time, instead of knocking the bowl from his hands a large clump of snow blew out of one of the trees and landed on the boy so that he dropped the grain.
The boy was angry, and having some fierce Viking blood in him, he decided to go to the cave where they say the North Wind lives to ask for his grain back. So he climbed up the mountain and arrived at the cave of the North Wind. When he entered the cave, the North Wind was very excited to see him – because nobody ever goes to visit the North Wind. But the boy was on a mission and firmly told the North Wind that he was not there for a friendly visit and demanded that the North Wind give him his grain back.
“Sadly, there is nothing I can do about that. Instead, take this table cloth. Spread it out and say ‘Table cloth, I would like a meal fit for a king’ and you will find it covered in delicious food whenever you wish,” said the North Wind.
So the boy took the table cloth and set off for home. But he grew tired after such a long journey so he decided to spend the night at the first house he came to. An old woman answered his knock and let him in. She gave him a room for the night, but the boy was very hungry so when he got to his room he spread the table cloth out and said the magic words “table cloth, I would like a meal fit for a king.” Instantly the table cloth produced an enormous feast. But the old woman had seen this exchange and wanted the table cloth. So, when the boy was sleeping, she snuck into his room and replaced it with an ordinary table cloth.
The next day the boy packed his things and journeyed home where he was anxious to show his mother the gift that the North Wind had given him. However, when he spread the table cloth out and muttered the magic words, nothing happened. Angrily the boy stormed back up the mountain and into the cave of the North Wind. He bitterly complained about the table cloth not working. The North Wind found this peculiar but gave the boy a second gift – a sheep that produced gold when asked.
The boy ventured home again, but grew tired at the same spot and decided to stay again with the kind old woman. This time she was happy to see the boy and asked him about his new sheep. The boy showed her what the sheep could do and the woman was astonished. So while the boy slept, she replaced his sheep with a regular sheep. The boy returned home the following day not knowing that his sheep had been replaced. When he tried to show his mother the magic sheep it did nothing, so the boy returned to the cave of the North Wind.
“Why have you returned?” asked the North Wind.
“That sheep that you gave me only worked once. Now it is just a normal sheep!” replied the boy.
“This shouldn’t have happened. Have you been going straight home or did you stop anywhere on your journey?” the North wind questioned.
The boy told the North Wind that he had indeed stopped at the same house the past two nights. The North Wind then ascertained why the gifts had stopped working and gave the boy one last gift – a magic stick.
“If you encounter any enemies, this stick will beat them if you ask it to” said the North Wind.
Another common theme in folktale is the story of three magic gifts – typically a poor person down on their luck is attempting to provide a meal for the family when something happens – sometimes they stumble upon someone magical, sometimes they are the aggressors and a magical being is at their mercy, sometimes they have been the unintentional victim of a magical being – and a magical gift is offered. The first gift is stolen so they return and get another; the second gift is stolen so they return to get another and the third gift helps them retrieve the former two. This story can be found all over – from Vietnam, to Norway, Italy (“The Ass that Lays Money”), Germany (“Table be set”) and my favorite from Ireland “Tim O’Toole and the Wee Folk” (a folktale retold from an older version, by Gerald McDermot – who, incidentally, is an amazing source for children’s folktales. http://www.amazon.com/Tim-OToole-Folk-Picture-Puffins/dp/0140506756)
