KidLit Forum

Danish folk tales
Title: The Boy who went Northwind

A. Context
-country and language: Denmark, Danish,
-original collector: Jens Christian Bay, Svend Hersleb Grundtvig and others, translated by Jens Christian Bay
-numbers of tales in that collection: 46
-volume: XIX

B. Summary
This fairy tale tells the story of an old woman who had an only son. This woman sent her son in the store room to fetch the flour which she needs for dinner. When the boy passed outside the Northwind swept away the flour. He returned in the store room but the second and third time the Northwind swept away the flour as before. He became angry and decided to go to the Northwind and to bring back the stolen flour. When the boy arrived there, the Northwind said that he has no flour, but instead, he gave to the boy a magic table-cloth which is able to produce all food he needs. However, the boy returned home, but because the distance is too long, he stepped into a inn, laid the table-cloth on a table after that he (with the help of some specific words) covered with all the dishes they wish and spent the night there. After that he arrived home, he wanted to show her mother what this cloth can do, but this time the magic table cloth does not cover the table with all the food they want. Being angry again, he returned to the wind and asked ask to be paid for the flour, but the wind gave him a cane. He stopped at the same inn and the innkeeper thought that the cane possessed a magic power. As soon as the boy pretends to be asleep, the innkeeper replaces the cane with a similar one. In that moment the cane began to dance on the innkeeper back, so he begged the boy to stop it because if he does not stop it, he will die. Also, he said that he was the person who stole the magic table-cloth. After that, the boy recovered the magic table-cloth, he realized that the magic cloth is better than the flour.

C. Characters and functions according to Vladimir Propp
The hero: the son of the old woman
The villain: the innkeeper
The dispatcher: the mother of the boy, who sent him to fetch the flour
The donor: the Northwind
Magical helper: the table-cloth, the cane

D. Functions
Initial situation: the son went to fetch the flour from the store room for his mother.
Reconnaissance: the innkeeper tries to keep the magic table-cloth.
Delivery: the innkeeper observes what the table-cloth could do when the boy used it to cover the table with delicious food.
Trickery: the first time when the boy spent the night at the inn, the innkeeper stole his table-cloth, the second time he tried to steal the cane.
Mediation: the boy finds the truth, he pretended that he slept and when the innkeeper tried to steal the cane he woke up.
Exposure: the boy found the way to make the innkeeper to tell the truth, so he found who stole his magic cloth.