ar, which is
borrowed from Thor, appears by a comical metamorphosis as a wish-rod
which will administer a sound thrashing to the enemies of its possessor.
Having cut a hazel stick, you have only to lay down an old coat, name
your intended victim, wish he was there, and whack away: he will howl
with pain at every blow. This wonderful cudgel appears in Dasent's tale
of "The Lad who went to the North Wind," with which we may conclude
this discussion. The story is told, with little variation, in Hindustan,
Germany, and Scandinavia.

The North Wind, representing the mischievous Hermes, once blew away a
poor woman's meal. So her boy went to the North Wind and demanded his
rights for the meal his mother had lost. "I have n't got your meal,"
said the Wind, "but here's a tablecloth which will cover itself with an
excellent dinner whenever you tell it to." So the lad took the cloth and
started for home. At nightfall he stopped at an inn, spread his cloth
on the table, and ordered it to cover itself with good things, and so
it did. But the landlord, who thought it would be money in his pocket
to have such a cloth, stole it after the boy had gone to bed, and
substituted another just like it in appearance. Next day the boy went
home in great glee to show off for his mother's astonishment what the
North Wind had given him, but all the dinner he got that day was what
the old woman cooked for him. In his despair he went back to the North
Wind and called him a liar, and again demanded his rights for the meal
he had lost. "I have n't got your meal," said the Wind, "but here's a
ram which will drop money out of its fleece whenever you tell it to." So
the lad travelled home, stopping over night at the same inn, and when he
got home he found himself with a ram which did n't drop coins out of its
fleece. A third time he visited the North Wind, and obtained a bag with
a stick in it which, at the word of command, would jump out of the bag
and lay on until told to stop. Guessing how matters stood as to his
cloth and ram, he turned in at the same tavern, and going to a bench lay
down as if to sleep. The landlord thought that a stick carried about in
a bag must be worth something, and so he stole quietly up to the bag,
meaning to get the stick out and change it. But just as he got within
whacking distance, the boy gave the word, and out jumped the stick
and beat the thief until he promised to give back the ram and the
tablecloth. And so the boy g