The Wishing-Table

Quick Answer

Why This Story Works for Bedtime

It’s satisfying and structured: good people receive help, greedy behavior gets corrected, and the ending feels secure. Great for older kids who like ‘comeuppance’ stories without cruelty.

Story Synopsis

A tailor sends his sons out to learn trades, hoping they will return with skills and a better future. Each son does return—but with something even stranger: a magical gift earned through honest work. The first brings a wishing table that, when told, sets itself with a feast. The second brings a donkey that drops gold at command. The third brings a humble sack that holds a cudgel that can leap out and defend its owner. When the sons come home, an innkeeper learns of the gifts and decides to steal them. He replaces the wishing table with an ordinary one, swaps the gold‑making donkey for a plain animal, and tries to keep the family poor while he grows rich. The sons are confused and embarrassed when the ‘magic’ fails—until they suspect something is wrong. The youngest son arrives last and tests the situation carefully. He reveals the truth with calm confidence and uses his cudgel—not to harm for pleasure, but to force the thief to return what he stole. Once the real table and donkey are restored, the family’s life changes. They have food when they need it, money for security, and the sense that fairness matters. The Wishing-Table isn’t just about magical objects—it’s about how honesty and perseverance can be protected, and how greed doesn’t get the final word.

Story Excerpt

There was once a tailor who had three sons and one goat. The goat’s milk helped feed the whole family, so she had to be taken out each day to find good green things to nibble. The sons did this in turn. One morning the eldest son led the goat to the churchyard, where the grass and herbs grew thick and fresh between the stones. The goat skipped and browsed all day. In the evening, when the sun was low, the boy took her by the rope and asked, “ Goat, have you had enough? ” The goat answered in a sing - song voice, “ I have eaten so much, Not a leaf more I’ll touch, meh! meh! ” “ Come home, then, ” said the boy, and he led her back, tied her securely in the stable, and went in to supper. But their father, who liked to be sure of things, went down the stairs with a little lamp. He stroked the goat’s head and asked gently, “ Goat, are you satisfied? ” And the goat answered, just as clearly, “ Wherewithal should I be satisfied? Among the graves I leapt about, And found no food, so went without, meh! meh! ” The tailor’s face grew hot with anger. He hurried upstairs, called his eldest son a liar, and — without stopping to listen — sent him out of the house with his yard - measure in his hand. The next day the second son took the goat out. He found a place by the garden fence where the leaves were tender and plentiful, and he watched her eat until he felt sure she could not want another bite. At evening he asked, “ Goat, are you satisfied? ” “ I have eaten so much, Not a leaf more I’ll touch, meh! meh! ” So he led her home and tied her in the stable. Again the father went down and asked, “ Goat, have…

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