By Nate Feldman


"The Boy Who Went to the North Wind," is a short play based on a Swedish folktale.  In the story, a poor farming family, a mother and young  boy have their flour blown away by the North Wind.  The boy goes to the North Wind's home to discuss this.  The wind unrepentantly says that it blows away whatever comes in its way.  But, out of pity for the boy, who claims he and his mother will starve now, the Wind offers a magic tablecloth which will give an abundant amount of food when wished upon.  

The boy jubilantly takes the tablecloth and begins heading home.  However, along the way, he must spend the night at an inn.  The innkeeper asks for a silver coin, but the boy doesn't have any money.  However, he tells the innkeeper he has a magic tablecloth that provides abundant food when wished upon.  He shows this power to the innkeeper and his wife.  They allow the boy to spend the night, but they devise a plan to steal the tablecloth from him.  They steal it from him and give him a tablecloth without magic in its place.

When the boy arrives home, he shows his mother the magic tablecloth.  He anticipates that it will bring them abundant food, like it did at the inn, but when he tries to get the unlimited food, nothing happens.  So, he returns to the North Wind to ask if the endless food was just something that would happen one time, or always.  The North Wind says it was supposed to happen always.  He gives the boy a new gift.  A sheep that gives a gold coin when you ask for it.  The boy returns to the inn for the night and pays with the gold coin from the sheep and gets a silver coin as change.  This time, the innkeeper and his wife steal the sheep and replace it with one of their own sheep.

The boy once again goes to his mother and the sheep can't give any money.  So, the boy returns to the North Wind, and the Wind thinks the boy has been tricked.  So, he gives the boy a stick that if the boy tells it to hit someone, it will.  It will only work for the boy.  The boy returns to the inn, paying with the silver coin he got as chance during his previous stay.  The innkeeper are curious about the stick, but the stick doesn't do anything for them.  The boy, who is now dubious about the innkeeper and his intentions, tells the stick to hit him and his wife.  So, the stick hits them.  Then, the innkeeper returns the tablecloth and sheep he stole from the boy, and the boy and his mother live happily ever after. 

Reading Comprehension Questions: 

1. Why does the boy go to visit the North Wind?

A. To ask for money
B. To complain that the wind blew away their flour
C. To ask for a job
D. To find his lost sheep

2. What does the North Wind first give the boy?

A. A magic stick
B. A bag of gold coins
C. A magic tablecloth
D. A magic sheep

3. What special power does the tablecloth have?

A. It can fly in the air
B. It gives unlimited food when wished upon
C. It turns into gold
D. It makes people invisible

4. Where does the boy stay on his way home?

A. At a castle
B. At a friend's house
C. At an inn
D. In a forest

5. What do the innkeeper and his wife do during the boy’s first stay?

A. They give him money
B. They steal the magic tablecloth
C. They help him find the North Wind
D. They give him food for free

6. What does the North Wind give the boy the second time?

A. A sheep that gives a gold coin when asked
B. A magic sword
C. A bag of flour
D. A talking bird

7. What do the innkeeper and his wife do the second time the boy stays at the inn?

A. They help him guard the sheep
B. They send him away
C. They steal the sheep and replace it with their own
D. They return the tablecloth

8. What does the North Wind give the boy the third time he visits?

A. A magic hat
B. A stick that can hit people when commanded
C. A bag of gold
D. Another magic tablecloth

9. Why does the stick hit the innkeeper and his wife?

A. Because they refuse to give the boy food
B. Because the boy commands the stick after realizing they tricked him
C. Because the wind controls it
D. Because they break the stick

10. How does the story end?

A. The boy becomes rich and leaves home
B. The North Wind takes everything back
C. The innkeeper returns the stolen items and the boy and his mother live happily
D. The boy loses the stick

11. The wind gave the tablecloth out of pity.  When you do something out of pity, you do it because:

A. You feel sorry for them
B. You love them
C. You aren't very intelligent 
D. you must do it 

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