illed his pockets as full as they
would hold, bid good-bye to his brother, and went home. But the third
brother said to himself,

"Silver and gold do not tempt me; I will not gainsay fortune, who has
better things in store for me."

So he went on, and when he had journeyed for three days, he came to a
wood still greater than the former ones, so that there was no end to it;
and in it he found nothing to eat or to drink, so that he was nearly
starving. He got up into a high tree, so as to see how far the wood
reached, but as far as his eyes could see, there was nothing but the
tops of the trees. And as he got down from the tree, hunger pressed him
sore, and he thought,

"Oh that for once I could have a good meal!"

And when he reached the ground he saw to his surprise a table beneath
the tree richly spread with food, and that smoked before him.

"This time at least," said he, "I have my wish," and without stopping to
ask who had brought the meal there, and who had cooked it, he came close
to the table and ate with relish, until his hunger was appeased. When he
had finished, he thought,

"It would be a pity to leave such a good table-cloth behind in the
wood," so he folded it up neatly and pocketed it. Then he walked on, and
in the evening, when hunger again seized him, he thought he would put
the table-cloth to the proof, and he brought it out and said,

"Now I desire that thou shouldst be spread with a good meal," and no
sooner were the words out of his mouth, than there stood on it as many
dishes of delicious food as there was room for.

"Now that I see," said he, "what sort of a cook thou art, I hold thee
dearer than the mountains of silver and of gold," for he perceived that
it was a wishing-cloth. Still he was not satisfied to settle down at
home with only a wishing-cloth, so he determined to wander farther
through the world and seek his fortune. One evening, in a lonely wood,
he came upon a begrimed charcoal-burner at his furnace, who had put some
potatoes to roast for his supper.

"Good evening, my black fellow," said he, "how do you get on in this
lonely spot?"

"One day is like another," answered the charcoal-burner: "every evening
I have potatoes; have you a mind to be my guest?"

"Many thanks," answered the traveller, "I will not deprive you; you did
not expect a guest; but if you do not object, you shall be the one to be
invited."

"How can that be managed?" said the charcoal-burner; "I see that