The Magic Table

A poor woodcutter has three sons. The eldest becomes a carpenter's apprentice, the second a miller's apprentice, and the youngest a turner's apprentice. Years pass. Each master summons his apprentice and grants him a gift for faithful service. The carpenter gives his apprentice a magic table that produces food and drink whenever commanded. The son travels home proudly. The miller gives his son a donkey that excretes gold coins. The third apprentice receives a cudgel that obeys any command to beat a thief or rogue. All three depart toward home. The eldest son, stopping at an inn, brags of his table's magic to the innkeeper, who covets it. That night, the innkeeper switches the magic table for an ordinary one. The son, deceived and ashamed, returns to his father with nothing. The second son, discovering the innkeeper's treachery toward his brother, shows his golden donkey but is similarly betrayed. The youngest son, seeing both brothers robbed through their own carelessness and lack of docility to warning, approaches more carefully. He commands his cudgel to beat the innkeeper when the man attempts theft. The innkeeper, thrashed and humiliated, confesses and returns both magical gifts. The youngest's docility—his willingness to learn from others' mistakes without pride—proves him wisest. His obedience to caution and instruction gives him wisdom his brothers lacked.