my dear son, a complaint
is brought against you; why do you injure poor folks? You have blown
away this man's flour from out of his dish; pay him now for it with
money, or how you will."

"Very well, Mother," replied the Wind, "I will pay him for his flour."
Then he called the countryman and said: "Hark ye, my little farmer,
take this basket; it contains everything you can wish for--money,
bread, all kinds of food and drink; you have only to say: 'Basket,
give me this and that,' and it will instantly give you all you desire.
Go home now--you have here payment for your flour." So the countryman
made his bow to the South Wind, thanked him for the basket, and went
his way home.

When the man came home, he gave the basket to his wife, saying: "Here,
wife, is a basket for you, which contains everything you can wish
for--only ask it." So the good woman took the basket, and said:
"Basket, give me good flour for bread!" And instantly the basket gave
her as much as ever she could desire. Then she asked again for this
thing and that, and the basket gave her everything in the twinkling of
an eye.

A few days after, it happened that a nobleman passed by the
countryman's cottage; and when the good woman saw him, she said to her
husband; "Go and invite this lord to be our guest; if you don't bring
him here, I will beat you half dead."

The countryman dreaded a beating from his wife. So he went and invited
the nobleman to dinner. Meanwhile the good woman took all kinds of
food and drink out of the basket, spread the table, and then sat down
patiently at the window, laying her hands in her lap, awaiting the
arrival of her husband and their guest. The nobleman was astonished at
receiving such an invitation and laughed, and would not go home with
the man; but instead, he ordered his servants who attended him to go
with the countryman, to dinner, and bring him back word how he treated
them. So the servants went with the countryman, and when they entered
his cottage, they were greatly amazed: for, to judge by his hut, he
must be very poor, but from the dishes upon the table he was evidently
a person of some consequence. Then they sat down to dinner, and made
merry; but they remarked that, whenever the good woman wanted
anything, she asked the basket for it, and obtained all she required.
So they did not leave the room at once, and sent one of their comrades
home to make as quickly as possible just such another basket and bring
it to