The second son had bound himself apprentice to a miller. And when his time was up his master said to him, »As you have behaved yourself so well, I will give you a donkey of a remarkable kind. He will draw no cart, and carry no sack.«—»What is the good of him then?« asked the young apprentice. »He spits out gold,« answered the miller. »If you put a cloth before him and say, ›Bricklebrit,‹ out come gold pieces.«—»That is a capital thing,« said the apprentice, and, thanking his master, he thought he would go and find his father who would perhaps forget his anger and receive him kindly because of his gold-ass.
It happened that he came to lodge in the same inn where his brother's table had been exchanged. When the guest called the reckoning after a large and rich supper and the landlord was given the shiny gold pieces, he thought to himself, ›Where there is a bit of gold, there must be more,‹ and kept an eye on his guest. He finally got up from the table and went into the stable looking for his donkey and carrying the tablecloth with him. The landlord could not tell what to make of it, and, curious to know his proceedings, followed him.