Summary:
This story is about a poor man with a wife and seven children to support who is down on his luck and goes to his rich bother for help to feed his children. He goes to his brother 3 different time and three different times his brother gives him scraps of food basically to feed his starving children. However, before he could get these things home the wind, the sun, and the frost destroy the scraps and angers the man. The wind replaces the flour it blew away with a magic cloth that provides his family food, and the sun provides him a magic goat that produces gold rather then milk. However, his greedy rich brother tricks the poor man out of both of the magical gifts that were saving his family from starving. So the third time he has to beg his brother for scraps of food and the brother gives him left over cabbage soup that the frost freezes. The man angers and explains his desperate situation to the frost and the frost provides him with a magic sack that contains to huge men that will jump out and do what needs to be done so when the greedy brother comes to steal this item he is surprised when the men jump out and commands him to return the items he stole from his brother. He obeys because he is being beat on until he complies. The poor man and his family are never hungry or desperate again.

Personal reaction to this book:
I found this book pretty interesting and very well illustrated for being an older book. It's not a short book but not too long either so I think it would hold a child's attention pretty well.

Extension:
1. This would be a good book to read just for pure entertainment value.
2. This book could be helpful to show children that being greedy and taking things that aren't yours won't help you in the long run.
3. This book would be a good book to introduce the topic of right and wrong, & cause and effect. I could have children identify which is which in the story. ( )