Jack and His Golden Snuff-Box

Once 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.