The Lad Who Went to the North Wind

The Lad Who Went to the North Wind

Once, in a small Norwegian village, a widow lived with her son. They were not rich, but they had a warm home, a little flour in the pantry, and a habit of sharing their last piece of bread with each other.

One morning, his mother said,

“Son, please bring me some flour. We’ll bake flatbreads.”

The lad filled a bowl with flour and came out of the pantry. But just as he stepped onto the porch, the North Wind rushed at him.

Whoooosh!

The flour rose in a white cloud and blew away.

“Hey!” the lad cried. “That was our flour!”

He went back for another bowlful. But as soon as he stepped outside, the North Wind blew again.

Whooosh!

The second bowlful vanished, too.

The same thing happened a third time.

The lad angrily put the empty bowl on a bench.

“This won’t do. I’ll find the North Wind and ask him to return what he took.”

It was a long journey. The lad walked over hills, through fir forests, along stony paths, and across cold valleys. At last, he reached the place where the North Wind lived.

Everything there hummed, whistled, and crackled.

“Good day!” the lad called.

“GOOD DAY!” the North Wind thundered so loudly that snow fell from the roof. “WHAT DO YOU WANT?”

“You took our flour three times. We don’t have much to begin with. I’ve come to ask you to give it back.”

The North Wind grew a little quieter.

“I can’t return the flour. I’ve blown it far away. But for your courage, I’ll give you something else.”

He handed the lad an ordinary-looking tablecloth.

“Say, ‘Tablecloth, spread yourself and give us a feast,’ and it will serve everything you need for a good supper.”

The lad thanked him and headed home. But the road was too long to finish by evening, so he stopped for the night at an inn.

“May I stay the night?” he asked.

“You may,” the innkeeper replied.

When it was time for supper, the lad put the tablecloth on the table.

“Tablecloth, spread yourself and give us a feast.”

At once, hot porridge, bread, cheese, berries, fragrant milk, and a whole bowl of baked apples appeared on the table.

The innkeeper’s eyes grew round.

During the night, while the lad slept, she quietly exchanged the magic tablecloth for an ordinary one.

In the morning, the lad noticed nothing and went home.

“Mother, look what the North Wind gave me!”

He spread out the tablecloth.

“Tablecloth, spread yourself and give us a feast!”

Nothing happened.

Not even a crumb appeared.

The lad frowned.

“Something is wrong. I’ll go to the North Wind again.”

He made the long journey once more.

“The tablecloth doesn’t work,” he said.

The North Wind was surprised.

“How strange. But let’s not argue. Here’s another gift.”

He brought out a little ram.

“Say, ‘Little ram, share your treasure,’ and he’ll give you a few gold coins.”

The lad thanked him and set off for home again. Once again, he spent the night at the same inn.

The innkeeper saw gold coins appear beside the ram when the lad spoke the magic words, and could not resist. While he slept, she replaced the ram with another that looked very much like him.

At home, the lad called his mother.

“Now everything will be all right! Watch.”

“Little ram, share your treasure!”

The ram only bleated,

“Baaa.”

There was not a single coin.

The lad thought for a moment.

“Now I’m almost certain the North Wind isn’t the problem.”

For a third time, he went to the Wind’s home.

“What happened this time?” the North Wind asked.

“The ram isn’t magical, either.”

The North Wind rumbled in the chimney for a long time. Then he said,

“Take this stick. It isn’t for fighting. But if you say, ‘Stick, put things right,’ it will make such a racket and such a commotion around anyone who has been dishonest that they’ll hurry to fix things themselves. To stop it, say, ‘Stick, enough.’”

The lad knew at once where to test the gift.

At the inn, he lay on a bench and pretended to sleep.

At midnight, the innkeeper quietly approached his belongings.

The lad opened his eyes.

“Stick, put things right!”

The stick began hopping about the room by itself. It thumped on the floor, rattled the spoons, rolled empty mugs about, opened and closed the door, rustled the curtains, and banged so loudly on the bench that everyone in the house woke up.

“Enough!” the innkeeper cried. “I’ll return everything! The tablecloth and the ram! Just stop it!”

“Stick, enough,” the lad said.

The room became quiet at once.

The innkeeper brought back the real magic tablecloth and the real ram.

“I’m sorry. I was dishonest.”

“What matters is that you’ve returned what wasn’t yours,” the lad replied.

He went home with the North Wind’s three gifts.

From then on, their home always had enough food, and just enough money for a peaceful life. But more than the magic things, the lad treasured what he had learned on his journey: determination, courage, and how to stand up for fairness without cruelty.

They say the North Wind became more careful with other people’s flour after that. Though now and then, he still likes to play above the rooftops.

Whoooosh!

May this story leave a little light in your heart ✨