There were as many children to a bootmadia as there were holes in a rosta, one more. The poor man made night and day one, working to support all these children.
Once upon a time, a rich man, after much work, gave him a bowl of flour. As he was going home with the flour, the wind caught him, and he went after him, and took all the flour that was in the basket, so that when he came home, he stood before the hungry children with only the empty basket.
- "Well, that's too much," says the poor man in his bitterness, "I'll go and find the King of the Winds, how he had the heart to take my little flour!
He sets off, and goes through hill and valley, forest and field. He passes through seven and seven countries, till at last he comes to a beautiful field, and as he looks to and fro across this field, he sees a whirlwind coming towards him, furiously blowing up the dust of the road. Frightened, the poor little fellow takes off his hat, and prostrates himself on the ground, if possible to escape the fury of the whirlwind.
- "Thank me," said the wind, "for having known me, and for having honoured me as King of the Winds, otherwise you would have been lost. Where are you, and what are you doing here?
- 'Sir,' said the poor man, coming to himself, 'I have just come to your Majesty to ask for satisfaction. The other day, by my great labour, I got a bushel of flour, and as soon as I brought it home, some rascal of a wind-man scattered it all, and now my family is starving at home.
- Let him go, the wicked kid will get it, but until then I can't let you go without a fight. Come to me.
He took the poor man to his castle, fed him well and gave him a lamb. He said:
- When you get home, tell him, "Shake it off, you frog!" - and he'll shake off a month's worth of money. But be careful not to try it until you get home.
The poor man bids farewell to the Wind King and heads home. But curiosity would not let him not try the lamb all the way home. No sooner does he say the word than the ground around the lamb is full of gold. Soon he arrives at his lodgings - an old friend who was also his landlady - and asks the lamb not to be found saying, "Shake yourself, you frog!"
No sooner does the poor little fellow fall asleep than the host and his wife are ordering the lamb to sleep:
- Shake yourself, you faggot!
So when they see that the land is full of gold, they take the poor cattle and replace theirs with a similar one.
The poor man wakes up the next morning, but he didn't notice the exchange, thanked the host for the accommodation, and went home in good hope. He says to the sheep when he gets home:
- Shake yourself, you faggot!
He says the word ten or twenty times, but the sheep just looks him in the eye and doesn't shake.
Once again, the poor bootblack sets off in a great rage to seek out the Wind King once more. He goes straight to the castle, announces himself, and tells of his fate. The Wind King says to her:
- You didn't take my word, did you, poor man, and wait until you came home to give me your orders? Here, now I'll give you an abrosta. This one has only to say, "Spread me, you tablecloth!" - and it's full of the best food. But be careful, don't try it till you get home.
But the poor man did not stop this time either, and tried the abrosta. When evening came, he went again to his comrade, and this time he said to him:
- Don't say to the tablecloth, "Spread me, you tablecloth!"
The commander and his wife, anxious to get him to sleep, immediately issued the warrant, and when they were convinced of the value of the poor man's apron, they exchanged it.
The poor man comes home the next day, and the miracle is that he has killed him, because he left the tablecloth on the table as he had left it.
In vain he said ten times, a hundred times, "Spread out, you tablecloth!"
What could he do, he just decided to go to the Wind King one more time. The King was waiting for him, and as soon as he arrived, he gave him a stick. But he made it a condition that until he came home, he should not order the little stick to "Roll over, little stick, but roll over good!"
Either the poor man was curious or not about the wondrous qualities of the other two gifts, but now he was eager to find out what use the stick could be. So as he passed over a hill, he says to the stick:
- Roll over, you little stick, but roll over good!
But it did happen to him, because the stick bounced up and he started beating him, but in such a way that the poor man could hardly stand on his feet because of all the beating. And as the stick was whirling round him, to his great fright, a bull ran at him. The poor man cries out in fright:
- Heat! - And so the stick no longer strikes.
That's how the poor man found out the use of his stick.
Again he stayed the night with his dear comrade, and tied it to their souls, lest they should say to the little stick, "Go round, little stick, but turn well!" - For they walk in mockery.
The Comtesse suspected nothing wrong. At midnight she had her man hanged.
- "Józsi," he says, "come, let's try the stick, and if it's any good, we'll swap this one too.
They take the stick into the room, lock themselves in, and the woman herself says:
- Roll, my sweet little stick, but roll well! Once for me, and once for my lord!
The stick bounces up and starts beating one, then the other, in and out. So that by the time the poor man woke up to all the wailing, there was hardly any life left in them. The poor man breaks down the door and says:
- I told you not to try my stick, didn't I, because you're asking for the stick of punishment. I know now that my lamb and my tablecloth were embezzled by the Kendt. Well, let that stick strike you with its snake!
- "Oh," says the woman, "my dear comrade, don't let him beat you any more, we'll give you back the lamb and the abrosta!
Then the poor man said to the stick:
- Heat!
But the Komámuram did not wait for him to start fighting again, they gave the poor man back his lamb and his tablecloth. He took it home to his family, and since then they have seen no need for it. If they are not dead, they are still alive.
