FABLES
Quickly and quietly, the figure switched the goats,
taking the boy’s and leaving the other in its place.
The boy was awake with the sun and wasted no
time making the long trip home.
“Mother,” cried the boy as he reached their cottage.
“Look what the North Wind has given us! A
magic goat!”
“Hmmm,” his mother said doubtfully.
“It looks like a regular goat to me.”
“Just watch this!” the boy
said. “Goat, Goat, make me
some gold!”
But nothing happened. The goat only shook its head and
started to eat the tablecloth.
“Oh well,” the mother said. “What’s another hungry mouth
to feed?”
“Tricked again!” the boy cried. “ This goat is supposed to make
golden coins. That’s it. The North Wind has to make this right!”
The next day found the boy making the all-too-familiar journey
north, which was just as long and as hard as the other two had been.
“You? AGAIN?!” the North Wind roared, nearly blowing the
boy over.
“Sorry, sir,” the boy shouted as he struggled
to hold on to his flapping cloak. “But the goat
stopped making gold. Now . . . ah . . . about
that meal?”
“THAT MEAL IS GONE!” bellowed
the North Wind. “And I have given you my
very best gifts. All I have left is this stick!”
Suddenly, a large stick came spinning
out of the sky and smacked the boy on the
shoulder. Quickly, he grabbed hold of it before
it could follow his long-lost meal into the wind.
“Say to this stick, ‘Stick, Stick, do your
work!’” said the North Wind, “and it will do what
it does best. Then when you wish it to stop, say,
‘Stick, Stick, stop!’ and it will. NOW,” the
North Wind roared, “GOOD-BYE!”
Grasping the final gift,
the boy thanked the North
Wind and scurried back the
way he had come. By nightfall,
he was once again at the inn.
“What? No luggage or
livestock this evening?” the
Inn keeper asked.
The boy handed him one of the
few coins that were left from when he
and the magic goat had stayed at the inn.
“Just me and my stick,” the boy replied.
“Follow me,” the Innkeeper said, looking
at his wife with raised eyebrows as they passed.
She merely shrugged.
Later that night, when the inn was dark and quiet,
the thieving figure once more stole into the boy’s room, this
time carrying a big stick, exactly like the boy’s. The figure didn’t
know what magic a walking stick might hold, but if this boy had it, the
thief thought it must be worth stealing.
By this time, the boy had grown suspicious of the Innkeeper. So instead of
going to sleep, he shut his eyes and pretended to snore loudly. As the figure reached
for the stick leaning in the corner near the bed, the boy suddenly stopped and cried,
“Stick, Stick, do your work!”
Immediately, the stick swung into action, swatting the mysterious figure, which
ran about the room crying, “Ouch! Ouch! STOP!”
The boy sat up in bed and saw the Innkeeper being
chased around and around by the magic stick.
“OW! OW!” he whined. “Make
it stop, and I’ll give you back your
tablecloth and goat!”
At sunrise the next
morning, the boy was on the
road heading home. He had
the magic tablecloth under his
arm, the lead for the magic goat
in one hand, and the magic stick
in the other.
His mother was amazed and
delighted by the gifts he had brought.
And for the rest of his days, when the boy
felt the North Wind whistle past him, he
touched the brim of his hat as a way of
saying thank you for a table that was
always full and a meal bin that was
never empty.
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THE BOY WHO WENT TO THE NORTH WIND
All of the stories and fables in this book were originally told or written by others. I simply
read many versions of each and then retold them in my own words. Listed below are the
original authors or the countries in which the stories are believed to have originated.
“The Ugly Duckling” and “The Emperor’s New Clothes” were written by Hans
Christian Andersen.
“Beauty and the Beast” was written by Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve.
“The Crow and the Pitcher,” “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” and “The Mice in
Council” are all attributed to Aesop.
“The Little Red Hen” is a folktale believed to have come from Russia.
“The Boy Who Went to the North Wind” is an old Scandinavian tale.
I would like to acknowledge and thank some of the people who helped to make this
book possible.
First, my editor, Bridget Monroe Itkin, for her straightforward suggestions and
insightful contributions, as well as her ability to work with this illustrator’s ungainly
schedule. And the rest of the Artisan team, including Sibylle Kazeroid, Hanh Le, Nancy
Murray, Lia Ronnen, and Allison McGeehon.
My models, Hilary Barta, Karl Gustafson, Patricia Gustafson, Rachael Jenison,
Cameron Klein, Rachael Mannix, and Theo Streit-Hurh, all of whom helped to bring the
characters in these stories to life.
Also, Karl Gustafson for his digital expertise in adapting some of the finished images.
And last but not least, my wife, Patty: special appreciation goes to her for her design
sense, technical know-how, and good counsel, not to mention her unfailing love and
support. This book was truly a team effort. Thank you.
A Note from the Artist
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Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
The Ugly Duckling
Beauty and the Beast
The Crow and the Pitcher
The Emperor’s New Clothes
The Boy Who Cried Wolf
The Little Red Hen
The Mice in Council
The Boy Who Went to the North Wind
A Note from the Artist
Back Cover