One poor woman had a son, a young man whose name was Andres. One morning his mother said to him:
- Here are the last five centavos - we have no more money. Take them, go to the market and buy rice with them.
Andres took the money and went to the market. On the way, he saw that some man wanted to kill a small snake.
“Please don’t kill her,” Andres began to beg. - Has this snake done anything bad to you?
“No,” the man answered, “but it can sting someone.” She definitely needs to be killed.
Andres began to ask him not to kill the snake.
- Why do you need this snake?
- Don't kill her! - Andres continued to beg. “Here, take five centavos and leave the little creature alone.”
The man was glad that they were giving him money, grabbed five centavos and left. And then the snake suddenly spoke.
“Thank you, good friend,” she said to Andres. - Let's go to my house - there you will see our leader. Trust me and don’t be afraid of anything, no danger threatens you. When you come to our possessions, I will tell the leader about you, and at first he will be harsh with you, because you are a stranger, but do not be afraid. Then the leader will ask you what you would like to receive as a reward for saving me. You ask him for a red tablecloth and two round stones. This tablecloth and stones are magical. This tablecloth will give you any food you want, and the stones will be your faithful protectors.
And Andres and the snake went to the terrible snake cave.
“Who is this stranger you brought?” Is he a murderer or maybe a robber? - the leader hissed when the snake and Andres appeared in the cave.
“Neither one nor the other,” the snake answered the leader. - This is my savior. If it weren't for him, I would have died. He saved me from a cruel man who wanted to kill me while I was crawling in the grass. - How can I reward you for a good deed? - asked the leader of Andres.
“If you can, give me your red tablecloth and two round stones,” Andres replied.
The leader thought for a moment, and then crawled deeper into the cave. Soon he appeared with a red tablecloth and two round stones. He told Andres:
“I give you this tablecloth and stones as a reward for saving my daughter’s life.” The tablecloth will feed you any dishes you want, and the stones will protect you from those who plan evil against you.
Andres thanked the leader of the snakes, took the gifts and left the cave. It was already close to noon, and Andres still had not bought rice for breakfast. “My poor mother,” he thought, “she must be very hungry.” And he felt that he himself was hungry. Andres sat down in the shade of a tree not far from the road, spread out a red tablecloth and asked her:
- Tablecloth, give me something to eat.
Before he had time to finish these words, a breakfast of the most delicious dishes appeared in front of him. Andres ate his fill and went to his home - which was far away.
Having walked halfway, Andres was tired. There was a hut by the road, and he looked into it. An old woman was sitting in the hut. The old woman’s face was very angry, but Andres still asked:
- Grandma, can I relax in your house?
“Rest, but I have nothing to treat you with - I’m sitting here hungry,” the old woman grumbled.
“You don’t need to treat me,” Andres said cheerfully, “I brought food with me, there’s enough for both me and you.”
“Well then, come in,” muttered the old woman.
Andres came in, spread out a red tablecloth and said:
- Tablecloth, give us something to eat!
And immediately a lot of delicious food appeared in front of them.
“Sit down, grandma, have lunch with me,” Andres invited the old woman.
The old woman happily agreed and sat down to dine with him.
She had never tried such dishes in her life and, having eaten her fill, decided to take possession of Andres’s tablecloth at all costs. Andres rolled up the tablecloth, placed it next to him and lay down to take a nap. As soon as he fell asleep, the old woman replaced the magic tablecloth with another one that was very similar to hers.
Having rested, Andres took the tablecloth and two stones, said goodbye to the old woman and moved on.
He walked and walked and suddenly felt thirsty. Andres took out a tablecloth, spread it and asked:
- Give me some salad!
But nothing appeared on the tablecloth.
- Then give me something to eat!
The tablecloth was still empty. Andres realized that the old woman had changed the tablecloth, and he began to feel very hot. And then he remembered that he had two round stones that would always punish the offender. Andres took out the stones and said to them:
“The old woman in whose hut I was, replaced my magic tablecloth with a simple one. Return to her and order her to give up my tablecloth. And if she refuses, do with her as you wish.
The stones returned to the old woman and said:
- We came to take the magic tablecloth from you.
The tablecloth was spread out in front of her and covered with all sorts of delicious dishes.
- Look what you want! - and the old woman laughed evilly. - Well, no, I won’t give up this tablecloth for anything!
And then the stones attack the old woman! After the first blows, she screamed at the top of her voice:
- Oh, have mercy! Here is the tablecloth, take it and leave quickly!
The stones wrapped themselves in a tablecloth and hurried with it back to the owner. Having received the magic tablecloth, Andres walked without hesitation to his home.
The mother was waiting for Andres, hungry and angry, and immediately attacked him with abuse. But Andres only responded with laughter. He spread the red tablecloth and said to her:
- Feed us dinner!
Many delicious dishes immediately appeared on the tablecloth.
The mother's mouth opened in surprise, and then Andres told her about everything that had happened to him that day.
Before this, Andres and his mother lived poorly, and their rich neighbors were very surprised when they saw that the poor suddenly became rich. The greediest of the rich neighbors, hiding one evening near Andres' hut, overheard them asking for the tablecloth to feed them, and decided to take possession of it at all costs. The rich man conspired with two thieves to steal the tablecloth and bring it to him.
“I’ll pay you well for it,” the rich man promised them. At midnight, Andres heard his dogs barking and realized that someone else was breaking into the house. He immediately guessed that these were thieves and ordered the stones:
- Give them a hard time!
Well, the thieves got it - they barely got away with it! No one bothered Andres and his mother anymore, and they, owning the magic tablecloth, lived in happiness and contentment.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru