In a small village once lived a carpenter who was famous and appreciated far beyond the borders of his home for his craftsmanship. In his small workshop he built everything out of wood that the inhabitants from the village and from outside needed. He made cabinets, tables, chairs and chests of all kinds, but he also made doors and shutters, and when necessary he came to his customers to repair floors and windows. His work was of such high quality and beauty that people would wait for weeks for his services and were willing to pay any price. But because he was a modest and decent man, he never took more money than he and his family needed. He also lived modestly in a small dwelling above his workshop, together with his partner, their two children and the old cat Mina. Their life was simple, but happy and without deprivation.

The carpenter's good reputation had spread far and wide in the country, so one day a rich alderman from a big city came to the village. The alderman, together with his servant, went directly to the carpenter and said to him, "My daughter is to be married next week, and one of my gifts to her is to be a splendid chest of drawers with carving and splendid inlay work. This box of gold here I will give you today, and another in ten days, when the chest of drawers shall be ready."

The carpenter looked at the alderman sorrowfully, and after a moment's thought said, "Sir, your order honors me, but my order books are full. I could start your order in a month at the earliest, because I gave my word to others that ordered cabinets and other furniture would be made at the agreed time. Therefore, I am sorry to have to decline your request."

The alderman tried everything to change the carpenter's mind, first offering him more gold, then trying threats, and when that didn't work he pleaded on his knees. But all this did not help, the carpenter stuck to his polite refusal.

Disappointed and angry, the alderman left the workshop with his servant, and as they both made their way home, the alderman said, "The carpenter will pay for simply rejecting me! I will take revenge and his damage shall be my pleasure!"

On his way home, the alderman had plenty of time to plan his revenge, and after returning to the city, he immediately sent for an old sorcerer. He was known in the city for his greed for money and his knowledge of black magic. When the old sorcerer arrived, the alderman said to him: "I want revenge on a carpenter who has denied my wishes. Invent a way to harm him, and the box of gold that the carpenter refused shall be yours!"

It did not take the old sorcerer long to devise a plan and set it in motion. That very evening he stood in his shabby study, uttered several incantations, and then a small box-shaped table clock stood before him. He wrapped it in paper, affixed a dedication, and that very night had a messenger take the clock to the carpenter's workshop. Full of malice, the old sorcerer rubbed his hands; the gold was as good as safe.

The next morning, as he did every day, the carpenter descended the wooden outside stairs to his workshop. He was about to unlock the door when he discovered the package lying just outside his workshop door. He picked it up, and read the dedication on the card, "Take this small gift as a tribute to your craftsmanship, from a quiet admirer."

Inside, he unwrapped the package, and when he saw the clock, he delighted in it. He wound it up, adjusted it after glancing out the window at the tower clock, and placed it on a shelf above his workbench. Elated, he took up his work, and nothing else happened that day. With one exception. Late in the afternoon, Mina, the old cat, came to the workshop. Mina rarely paid attention to the other members of the family, and only sometimes allowed one of the children to pet her or play with her. But still, everyone liked the old cat, and in her own way, Mina probably liked the family, too. So Mina came to the workshop, as she often did, but when she came near the clock, her behavior changed. She arched her back, her fur bristled, and she hissed excitedly in the direction of the clock. This seemed strange to the carpenter, but he shooed Mina out of the workshop to work in peace.

Nothing else happened, and when evening came, the carpenter laid down his work and went upstairs.

Late at night, when everyone was asleep, something happened in the workshop. A small door slowly began to open on the clock, and out of it came a creature, a goblin to be exact. With wide eyes, he looked around the workshop, thinking carefully about what he could break first. Because that was exactly his job: to destroy! Furniture, tools and machines he should smash, nothing in the workshop should still be usable after this night, and also in the rest of the house the goblin should continue his destructive work. He would not do this out of malice, but he knew nothing else, because he had been created and sent here solely for this reason. The goblin was to destroy the carpenter's livelihood and everything he held dear, as revenge for the rejected alderman.

The goblin thought about what he would start with, strolling over the workbench, bending a screwdriver here, breaking a saw there. He did not think about the pain he would cause the carpenter with his work of destruction, his goblin mind was not capable of that, he only felt anticipation of the damage and destruction.

With goblin-like skill, he knocked over a cupboard much larger than himself, but made no noise at all. The old sorcerer had given the creature this ability, namely that no human would notice his actions before it was too late.

The goblin rubbed his hands together joyfully as he stood over the debris of the furniture, but then he suddenly heard a noise from the back of the workshop. He looked in the direction from which the noise had come, and thought he saw something sneaking around in the dark. It was hard to tell what was moving, but the creature had difficulty following the movements of the something that was scurrying from one dark corner to the next, hiding behind furniture and other objects as it slowly stalked the goblin. He was disconcerted, for suddenly he had lost sight of the darting something. At that moment, he heard a soft hissing behind him. Startled, the goblin slowly turned around and saw a large black cat, which gave him an evil look with extended claws.

It was Mina, the carpenter's cat.

Mina examined the creature carefully; she had already noticed the presence of something supernatural in the afternoon. Cats have a sense for such things, and so the goblin did not remain hidden from her for long. She had watched the goblin's activities for a while, and was now determined to do something about this troublemaker. Mina would not tolerate anyone but herself destroying anything in her house, and possibly being mean to her humans, a privilege which of course only belonged to the old cat.

So for Mina, it was clear that this little creature had to get out of the house, and if violence was necessary for that, it would be no obstacle for the old cat.

The goblin slowly began to realize that he could be in for a lot of trouble when Mina suddenly made a dash toward him. The little creature jumped to the side and began to flee in a panic over furniture and workbenches, Mina close behind. The old cat shooed the goblin all over the workshop, giving it a swipe here and there with its paw or a scratch across its back, but always letting it run a little ahead. It had been a long time since Mina had felt such joy in hunting; she felt younger than she had in a long time. But after a short while, she decided it was time for the little creature to get out of her house. With a powerful leap, she jumped into the goblin's back, pinning it to the ground, and was about to put an end to it when the workshop door opened.

"What's going on here?" shouted the carpenter as he entered the workshop with a lantern in his hand, his partner and the children close behind him. The noise of Mina's chase had awakened them, so they had gone to see what was the cause of the commotion.

Mina looked at them with an annoyed look, she felt disturbed in her game with the goblin.

The carpenter's look made her pause, and when he saw the destruction in the workshop, the open clock and the scratched and dented goblin, he was sure he understood all the connections. After all, he was not only an extremely skilled craftsman, but also had a clever and alert mind.

He went up to Mina, picked up the goblin in spite of her protests, and said to him, "I suspect to whom I owe your visit. You will now leave this house if your life is worth anything to you, if not, you may continue to play with Mina." Then the carpenter brought the goblin to the door and set him down, where he disappeared into the night as quickly as he still could, looking anxiously toward Mina, never to be seen again in that village.

Meanwhile, the entire family thanked old Mina for warding off the goblin's visitation, they scratched her head and promised her many a reward. Mina was outwardly indifferent to her humans, but in silence she enjoyed the praise and affection very much, because she also loved her humans, in a feline way.

And so the family went back to sleep, and Mina curled up in the workshop, enjoying her triumph.

The next morning, the alderman and the old sorcerer came back to the village to see for themselves the goblin's work of destruction. But when they arrived at the carpenter's workshop, they saw that everything was in perfect order. The carpenter had already repaired the smashed furniture, replaced the broken tools, and customers were frequenting the workshop. The alderman realized that he had been robbed of his revenge, and that moment the carpenter stepped up to them, goblin clock in hand, and spoke, "I suspect that this clock was your gift to me. I would like to return it to you and ask you to refrain from making any more gifts of this kind. Good day."

The alderman departed in a huff, scolding the carpenter and the sorcerer, who, of course, received no gold, and both were never seen in the village again.

The carpenter and his family, however, lived happily in their house for a long time, and Mina still received many a reward and was loved by all, even if she did not always return the favor.