e landlord finally consented; but he had some suspicions; and when the
boy and his beast were shut in the room, he looked through the key-hole,
and saw that wonder of an ass that laid money in abundance. "Bless me!"
cried the host. "I should be a fool, indeed, if I let this piece of good
fortune escape my hands!" He at once looked for another ass of the same
color and size, and while the lad was asleep, exchanged them. In the
morning the boy paid his bill and departed, but on the way, the ass no
longer laid any money. The stupefied child did not know what to think at
first, but afterward examining it more closely, it appeared to him that
the ass was not his, and straightway he returned to the innkeeper, to
complain of his deception. The landlord cried out: "I wonder at your
saying such a thing! We are all honest people here, and don't steal
anything from anybody. Go away, blockhead, or you will find something to
remember a while."

The child, weeping, had to depart with his ass, and he went back to his
uncle's farm, and told him what had happened. The uncle said: "If you
had not stopped at the innkeeper's, you could not have met with this
misfortune. However, I have another present to help you and your mother.
But take care! Do not mention it to any one, and take good care of it.
Here it is. I give you a tablecloth, and whenever you say: '_Tablecloth,
make ready_,' after having spread it out, you will see a fine repast at
your pleasure." The youth took the tablecloth in delight, thanked his
uncle, and departed; but like the fool he was, he stopped again at the
same inn. He said to the landlord: "Give me a room and you need not
prepare anything to eat. I have all I want with me." The crafty
innkeeper suspected that there was something beneath this, and when the
lad was in his room, he looked through the key-hole, and saw the
tablecloth preparing the supper. The host exclaimed: "What good luck for
my inn! I will not let it escape me." He quickly looked for another
tablecloth like this one, with the same embroidery and fringe, and while
the child was sleeping, he exchanged it for the magic one, so that in
the morning the lad did not perceive the knavery. Not until he had
reached a forest where he was hungry, did he want to make use of the
tablecloth. But it was in vain that he spread it out and cried:
"_Tablecloth, make ready._" The tablecloth was not the same one, and
made nothing ready for him. In despair the boy went bac