The Cudgel in the Sack

The Cudgel in the Sack - How the third brother got the little table and the gold ass back

The third brother did his apprenticeship with a turner and he needed the longest time. One day he received a letter from home, where his brothers told how the innkeeper had cheated them out of their little table and gold ass. When he became a fully trained turner, in thanks his master gave him a sack with a cudgel in it. "The sack is useful", said the young journeyman turner. "But what can I do with the cudgel in it?" The master answered, "If someone has done you harm, just say "Cudgel out the sack! Then the cudgel jumps out of the sack and beats that person on the back. It will only stop when you say "Cudgel in the sack!"

The young turner thanked his former master and went to the inn where his brothers had been cheated. He sat down there and said "Yes, there is a wishing table and a gold ass, but they are nothing compared with the treasure in my sack. The innkeeper's ears pricked up and he thought that the sack must be full of precious stones. When it was time to sleep, his guest lay on a bench and used the sack as a pillow. The innkeeper wanted to pull the sack away at night unnoticed. The turner was waiting for this and he called "Cudgel out the sack!" The cudgel clobbered the innkeeper mercilessly until he fell to the ground. "Give the little table and the gold ass back, otherwise the clobbering will start again." "No! No!" cried the innkeeper meekly, "You can have everything!"

In the morning the son returned home to his father with the wishing table and the gold ass. Proudly he told his father about the cudgel and how he took the little table and the gold ass away from the innkeeper. "Have my brothers and all the relatives called here. I want to give them something to eat and fill all their pockets with gold." The father did not quite trust the outcome, but he had everyone come anyway. The turner laid a cloth in the parlour led the gold ass in and asked his brother to say "Bricklebrit". The pieces of gold fell onto the cloth like a rainstorm until everyone had enough. Then everyone ate their fill from the little table.

But the goat was stung on her bald head by a bee. It hurt so much that she ran away in pain.