The Table, the Ass, and the Stick

A tailor has three sons. The eldest apprentices with a carpenter and learns to make a table that produces food and drink at command. The second studies with a miller and receives a donkey that excretes gold coins. The third learns the turner's craft and is given a magical stick that beats thieves and villains. Each son leaves his master proudly. At an inn, the eldest displays his magic table. The innkeeper, greedy and dishonest, switches it in the night for an ordinary table. The son returns home ashamed, his gift lost through carelessness and boastfulness. The second son, warned by his brother's fate, hides his donkey. But the innkeeper discovers it, switches it for a normal one, and the son departs, believing himself clever and careful, yet still deceived. Only the third son, observing his brothers' misfortunes, remains cautious. When the innkeeper attempts to steal the stick, the son commands it to beat the thief. The innkeeper, thrashed and humiliated, confesses and returns both magical gifts. The third son, traveling home with all three treasures, understands that magnificence—true greatness—lies not in possessing wonders but in using them wisely and righteously. He establishes himself in a magnificent hall, where the table feeds the hungry, the donkey funds charitable works, and the stick ensures justice against wrongdoing. Through magnificence—the use of great goods for great purposes—he becomes a ruler of renown, known throughout the land for his noble generosity and just defense of the weak.