English Fairy Tales
JACK AND HIS GOLDEN SNUFF-BOXOnce
upon a time, and a very good time it was, though it was neither in my
time nor in your time nor in any one else's time, there was an old man
and an old woman, and they had one son, and they lived in a great
forest. And their son never saw any other people in his life, but he
knew that there was some more in the world besides his own father and
mother, because he had lots of books, and he used to read every day
about them. And when he read about some pretty young women, he used to
go mad to see some of them; till one day, when his father was out
cutting wood, he told his mother that he wished to go away to look for
his living in some other country, and to see some other people besides
them two. And he said, "I see nothing at all here but great trees
around me; and if I stay here, maybe I shall go mad before I see
anything." The young man's father was out all this time, when this talk
was going on between him and his poor old mother. The
old woman begins by saying to her son before leaving, "Well, well, my
poor boy, if you want to go, it's better for you to go, and God be with
you."—(The old woman thought for the best when she said that.)— "But
stop a bit before you go. Which would you like best for me to make you,
a little cake and bless you, or a big cake and curse you?" "Dear,
dear!" said he, "make me a big cake. Maybe I shall be hungry on the
road." The old woman made the big cake, and she went on top of the
house, and she cursed him as far as she could see him. He
presently meets with his father, and the old man says to him: "Where
are you going, my poor boy?" when the son told the father the same tale
as he told his mother. "Well," says his father, "I'm sorry to see you
going away, but if you've made your mind to go, it's better for you to
go." The
poor lad had not gone far, when his father called him back; then the
old man drew out of his pocket a golden snuff-box, and said to him:
"Here, take this little box, and put it in your pocket, and be sure not
to open it till you are near your death." And away went poor Jack upon
his road, and walked till he was tired and hungry, for he had eaten all
his cake upon the road; and by this time night was upon him, so he
could hardly see his way before him. He could see some light a long way
before him, and he made up to it, and found the back door and knocked
at it, till one of the maid-servants came and asked him what he wanted.
He said that night was on him, and he wanted to get some place to
sleep. The maid-servant called him in to the fire, and gave him plenty
to eat, good meat and bread and beer; and as he was eating his food by
the fire, there came the young lady to look at him, and she loved him
well and he loved her. And the young lady ran to tell her father, and
said there was a pretty young man in the back kitchen; and immediately
the gentleman came to him, and questioned him, and asked what work he
could do. Jack said, the silly fellow, that he could do anything. (He
meant that he could do any foolish bit of work, that would be wanted
about the house.) "Well,"
says the gentleman to him, "if you can do anything, at eight o'clock in
the morning I must have a great lake and some of-the largest man-of-war
vessels sailing before my mansion, and one of the largest vessels must
fire a royal salute, and the last round must break the leg of the bed
where my young daughter is sleeping. And if you don't do that, you will
have to forfeit your life." "All
right," said Jack; and away he went to his bed, and said his prayers
quietly, and slept till it was near eight o'clock, and he had hardly
any time to think what he was to do, till all of a sudden he remembered
about the little golden box that his father gave him. And he said to
himself: "Well, well, I never was so near my death as I am now;" and
then he felt in his pocket, and drew the little box out. And when he
opened it, out there hopped three little red men, and asked Jack: "What
is your will with us?" "Well," said Jack, "I want a great lake and some
of the largest man-of-war vessels in the world before this mansion, and
one of the largest vessels to fire a royal salute, and the last round
to break one of the legs of the bed where this young lady is sleeping."
"All right," said the little men; "go to sleep." Jack
had hardly time to bring the words out of his mouth, to tell the little
men what to do, but what it struck eight o'clock, when Bang, bang went
one of the largest man-of-war vessels; and it made Jack jump out of bed
to look through the window; and I can assure you it was a wonderful
sight for him to see, after being so long with his father and mother
living in a wood. By
this time Jack dressed himself, and said his prayers, and came down
laughing; for he was proud, he was, because the thing was done so well.
The gentleman comes to him, and says to him: "Well, my young man, I
must say that you are very clever indeed. Come and have some
breakfast." And the gentleman tells him, "Now there are two more things
you have to do, and then you shall have my daughter in marriage." Jack
gets his breakfast, and has a good squint at the young lady, and also
she at him. The
other thing that the gentleman told him to do was to fell all the great
trees for miles around by eight o'clock in the morning; and, to make my
long story short, it was done, and it pleased the gentleman well The
gentleman said to him: "The other thing you have to do"—(and it was the
last thing)—"you must get me a great castle standing on twelve golden
pillars; and there must come regiments of soldiers and go through their
drill. At eight o'clock the commanding officer must say, 'Shoulder
up.'" "All right," said Jack; when the third and last morning came the
third great feat was finished, and he had the young daughter in
marriage. But, oh dear! there is worse to come yet. The
gentleman now makes a large hunting party, and invites all the
gentlemen around the country to it, and to see the castle as well. And
by this time Jack has a beautiful horse and a scarlet dress to go with
them. On that morning his valet, when putting Jack's clothes by, after
changing them to go a hunting, put his hand in one of Jack's
waistcoat-pockets, and pulled out the little golden snuffbox, as poor
Jack left behind in a mistake. And that man opened the little box, and
there hopped the three little red men out, and asked him what he wanted
with them. "Well," said the valet to them, "I want this castle to be
moved from this place far and far across the sea." "All right," said
the little red men to him; "do you wish to go with it?" "Yes," said he.
"Well, get up," said they to him; and away they went far and far over
the great sea. Now
the grand hunting party comes back, and the castle upon the twelve
golden pillars had disappeared, to the great disappointment of those
gentlemen as did not see it before. That poor silly Jack is threatened
by taking his beautiful young wife from him, for taking them in in the
way he did. But the gentleman at last made an agreement with him, and
he is to have a twelvemonths and a day to look for it; and off he goes
with a good horse and money in his pocket. Now
poor Jack goes in search of his missing castle, over hills, dales,
valleys, and mountains, through woolly woods and sheepwalks, further
than I can tell you or ever intend to tell you. Until at last he comes
up to the place where lives the King of all the little mice in the
world. There was one of the little mice on sentry at the front gate
going up to the palace, and did try to stop Jack from going in. He
asked the little mouse: "Where does the King live? I should like to see
him." This one sent another with him to show him the place; and when
the King saw him, he called him in. And the King questioned him, and
asked him where he was going that way. Well, Jack told him all the
truth, that he had lost the great castle, and was going to look for it,
and he had a whole twelvemonths and a day to find it out. And Jack
asked him whether he knew anything about it; and the King said: "No,
but I am the King of all the little mice in the world, and I will call
them all up in the morning, and maybe they have seen something of it." Then
Jack got a good meal and bed, and in the morning he and the King went
on to the fields; and the King called all the mice together, and asked
them whether they had seen the great beautiful castle standing on
golden pillars. And all the little mice said, No, there was none of
them had seen it. The old King said to him that he had two other
brothers: "One is the King of all the frogs; and my other brother, who
is the oldest, he is the King of all the birds in the world. And if you
go there, may be they know something about the missing castle." The
King said to him: "Leave your horse here with me till you come back,
and take one of my best horses under you, and give this cake to my
brother; he will know then who you got it from. Mind and tell him I am
well, and should like dearly to see him." And then the King and Jack
shook hands together. And
when Jack was going through the gates, the little mouse asked him,
should he go with him; and Jack said to him: "No, I shall get myself
into trouble with the King." And the little thing told him: "It will be
better for you to let me go with you; maybe I shall do some good to you
some time without you knowing it." "Jump up, then." And the little
mouse ran up the horse's leg, and made it dance; and Jack put the mouse
in his pocket. Now
Jack, after wishing good morning to the King and pocketing the little
mouse which was on sentry, trudged on his way; and such a long way he
had to go and this was his first day. At last he found the place; and
there was one of the frogs on sentry, and gun upon his shoulder, and
did try to hinder Jack from going in; but when Jack said to him that he
wanted to see the King, he allowed him to pass; and Jack made up to the
door. The King came out, and asked him his business; and Jack told him
all from beginning to end. "Well, well, come in." He gets good
entertainment that night; and in the morning the King made such a funny
sound, and collected all the frogs in the world. And he asked them, did
they know or see anything of a castle that stood upon twelve golden
pillars; and they all made a curious sound, Kro-kro, kro-kro, and said, No. Jack
had to take another horse, and a cake to this King's brother, who is
the King of all the fowls of the air; and as Jack was going through the
gates, the little frog that was on sentry asked John should he go with
him. Jack refused him for a bit; but at last he told him to jump up,
and Jack put him in his other waistcoat pocket. And away he went again
on his great long journey; it was three times as long this time as it
was the first day; however, he found the place, and there was a fine
bird on sentry. And Jack passed him, and he never said a word to him;
and he talked with the King, and told him everything, all about the
castle. "Well," said the King to him, "you shall know in the morning
from my birds, whether they know anything or not." Jack put up his
horse in the stable, and then went to bed, after having something to
eat. And when he got up in the morning the King and he went on to some
field, and there the King made some funny noise, and there came all the
fowls that were in all the world. And the King asked them; "Did they
see the fine castle?" and all the birds answered, No. "Well," said the
King, "where is the great bird?" They had to wait then for a long time
for the eagle to make his appearance, when at last he came all in a
perspiration, after sending two little birds high up in the sky to
whistle on him to make all the haste he possibly could. The King asked
the great bird, Did he see the great castle? and the bird said: "Yes, I
came from there where it now is." "Well," says the King to him; "this
young gentleman has lost it, and you must go with him back to it; but
stop till you get a bit of something to eat first." They
killed a thief, and sent the best part of it to feed the eagle on his
journey over the seas, and had to carry Jack on his back. Now when they
came in sight of the castle, they did not know what to do to get the
little golden box. Well, the little mouse said to them: "Leave me down,
and I will get the little box for you." So the mouse stole into the
castle, and got hold of the box; and when he was coming down the
stairs, it fell down, and he was very near being caught. He came
running out with it, laughing his best. "Have you got it?" Jack said to
him; he said: "Yes;" and off they went back again, and left the castle
behind. As
they were all of them (Jack, mouse, frog, and eagle) passing over the
great sea, they fell to quarrelling about which it was that got the
little box, till down it slipped into the water. (It was by them
looking at it and handing it from one hand to the other that they
dropped the little box to the bottom of the sea.) "Well, well," said
the frog, "I knew that I would have to do something, so you had better
let me go down in the water." And they let him go, and he was down for
three days and three nights; and up he comes, and shows his nose and
little mouth out of the water; and all of them asked him, Did he get
it? and he told them, No. "Well, what are you doing there, then?"
"Nothing at all," he said, "only I want my full breath;" and the poor
little frog went down the second time, and he was down for a day and a
night, and up he brings it. And
away they did go, after being there four days and nights; and after a
long tug over seas and mountains, arrive at the palace of the old King,
who is the master of all the birds in the world. And the King is very
proud to see them, and has a hearty welcome and a long conversation.
Jack opens the little box, and told the little men to go back and to
bring the castle here to them; "and all of you make as much haste back
again as you possibly can." The
three little men went off; and when they came near the castle they were
afraid to go to it till the gentleman and lady and all the servants
were gone out to some dance. And there was no one left behind there
only the cook and another maid with her; and the little red men asked
them which would they rather—go, or stop behind? and they both said: "I
will go with you;" and the little men told them to run upstairs quick.
They were no sooner up and in one of the drawing-rooms than here comes
just in sight the gentleman and lady and all the servants; but it was
too late. Off the castle went at full speed, with the women laughing at
them through the window, while they made motions for them to stop, but
all to no purpose. They
were nine days on their journey, in which they did try to keep the
Sunday holy, when one of the little men turned to be the priest, the
other the clerk, and third presided at the organ, and the women were
the singers, for they had a grand chapel in the castle already. Very
remarkable, there was a discord made in the music, and one of the
little men ran up one of the organ-pipes to see where the bad sound
came from, when he found out it only happened to be that the two women
were laughing at the little red man stretching his little legs full
length on the bass pipes, also his two arms the same time, with his
little red night-cap, which he never forgot to wear, and what they
never witnessed before, could not help calling forth some good
merriment while on the face of the deep. And poor thing! through them
not going on with what they begun with, they very near came to danger,
as the castle was once very near sinking in the middle of the sea. At
length, after a merry journey, they come again to Jack and the King.
The King was quite struck with the sight of the castle; and going up
the golden stairs, went to see the inside. The
King was very much pleased with the castle, but poor Jack's time of a
twelvemonths and a day was drawing to a close; and he, wishing to go
home to his young wife, gives orders to the three little men to get
ready by the next morning at eight o'clock to be off to the next
brother, and to stop there for one night; also to proceed from there to
the last or the youngest brother, the master of all the mice in the
world, in such place where the castle shall be left under his care
until it's sent for. Jack takes a farewell of the King, and thanks him
very much for his hospitality. Away
went Jack and his castle again, and stopped one night in that place;
and away they went again to the third place, and there left the castle
under his care. As Jack had to leave the castle behind, he had to take
to his own horse, which he left there when he first started. Now
poor Jack leaves his castle behind and faces towards home; and after
having so much merriment with the three brothers every night, Jack
became sleepy on horseback, and would have lost the road if it was not
for the little men a-guiding him. At last he arrived weary and tired,
and they did not seem to receive him with any kindness whatever,
because he had not found the stolen castle; and to make it worse, he
was disappointed in not seeing his young and beautiful wife to come and
meet him, through being hindered by her parents. But that did not stop
long. Jack put full power on and despatched the little men off to bring
the castle from there, and they soon got there. Jack
shook hands with the King, and returned many thanks for his kingly
kindness in minding the castle for him; and then Jack instructed the
little men to spur up and put speed on. And off they went, and were not
long before they reached their journey's end, when out comes the young
wife to meet him with a fine lump of a young SON, and they all lived
happy ever afterwards.
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