Next day she met Jack again and asked for some buttermilk. But Jack said, “No,” again, so she put him into her bag and went straight home with him and threw him out on the white table.
When she did this, she saw she did not have enough water to boil the boy. So she put Jack back in the bag and went away. But she forgot to tie the bag. So while she was away, Jack crept out of it, opened all the cupboards in the house, and filled the bag with all the pots that he could find. After that he went away, and soon he was safely home.
When the witch came back, she emptied the bag on the table again and broke all the pots that she had. After this she never caught Jack any more.
Teeny-Tiny
Once upon a time, there was a teeny-tiny woman. She lived in a teeny-tiny house in a teeny-tiny village. Now, one day this teeny-tiny woman put on her teeny-tiny bonnet and went out of her teeny-tiny house to take a teeny-tiny walk. And when this teeny-tiny woman went a teeny-tiny way, she came to a teeny-tiny gate. So the teeny-tiny woman opened the teeny-tiny gate and went into a teeny-tiny churchyard. And when this teeny-tiny woman got into the teeny-tiny churchyard, she saw a teeny-tiny bone on a teeny-tiny grave, and the teeny-tiny woman said to her teeny-tiny self, “This teeny-tiny bone will make me some teeny-tiny soup for my teeny-tiny supper.” So the teeny-tiny woman put the teeny-tiny bone into her teeny-tiny pocket and went home to her teeny-tiny house.
Now, when the teeny-tiny woman got home to her teeny-tiny house, she was a teeny-tiny bit tired. So she went up her teeny-tiny stairs to her teeny-tiny bed and put the teeny-tiny bone into a teeny-tiny cupboard. And when this teeny-tiny woman was teeny-tiny sleeping, she was awakened[41] by a teeny-tiny voice from the teeny-tiny cupboard which said, “Give me my bone!”
And this teeny-tiny woman was a teeny-tiny frightened, so she hid her teeny-tiny head under the teeny-tiny clothes and went to sleep again. And when she was again teeny-tiny sleeping, the teeny-tiny voice again cried out from the teeny-tiny cupboard a teeny-tiny louder, “Give me my bone!”
The teeny-tiny woman was a teeny-tiny bit more frightened, so she hid her teeny-tiny head a teeny-tiny further under the teeny-tiny clothes. And when she was again teeny-tiny sleeping, the teeny-tiny voice from the teeny-tiny cupboard said again a teeny-tiny louder, “Give me my bone!”
And this teeny-tiny woman was a teeny-tiny bit more frightened, but she put her teeny-tiny head out[42] of the teeny-tiny clothes and said in her loudest teeny-tiny voice, “TAKE IT!”
The Glass Ball
There was once a woman who had two daughters. She gave each of them a beautiful glass ball, and they liked them very much.
One day, they were playing together, and one of the girls tossed her ball over the wall into the next garden. The house in that garden belonged to a fox who never talked to his neighbours.
The girl that tossed her ball over the wall was afraid of this fox, but she liked the glass ball very much, so she said to herself, “I must not lose my ball and I’ll get it back.[43]”
So she bravely walked to the fox’s house, but she knocked at the door very timidly. The fox opened the door, and the girl told him how she lost her glass ball in his garden.
“You can have your ball,” said the fox, “if you become my housekeeper for a year.”
The girl agreed to live in the fox’s house for a year. She did not see the fox very often because he went out early every morning and came back late at night.
Now, before the fox went out as usual[44] one morning, he called the girl to him and said to her, “I am going away for a little time[45]. While I am away,[46] there are five things you must not do: you must not wash up the dishes or sweep the floor or dust the chairs or look into the cupboard, and you must not look under my bed.”
And the fox went away. But the girl decided to disobey him, and she said to herself, “I will see what happens if I don’t do as he tells me.”
So first of all, she washed up the dishes. Suddenly, a great bag full of copper fell down before her.
“Very good,” said the girl.
Next, she swept the floor. This time[47], a great bag full of silver fell down before her.
“Better still[48],” said the girl.
Next, she dusted the chairs when a great bag full of gold fell down before her.
“That’s just what I want,” said the girl.
Next, she looked into the cupboard, and there was her glass ball!
“Oh, you don’t know how glad I am,” she said and clapped her hands.
Finally, she went upstairs and looked under the bed, and there was the fox! She was awfully frightened and ran downstairs, through the garden and up the town street. She came to a lane, and at the top of the lane she met a horse and said to the horse:
thineAnd the horse neighed and said, “I will not.”
A little further she met a cow and said:
And the cow mooed and said, “I will not.”
A little further she met a mule and said:
And the mule brayed and said, “I will not.”
A little further she met a dog and said:
And the dog barked and said, “I will not.”
A little further on she met a cat and said:
And the cat mewed and said, “I will not.”
Finally, she met an owl and said:
And the owl hooted and said, “I will not.”
The fox followed the girl, and now he came to the same lane where he met the horse and sang to him with such a lovely voice:
And the horse said, “She passed me by.[50]”
Next he met the same cow and sang to her:
And the cow said, “She passed me by.”
A little further on he met the same mule and sang:
And the mule said, “She passed me by.”
A little further he met the same dog and sang:
And the dog said, “She passed me by.”
A little further he met the same cat and sang:
And the cat said, “She passed me by.”
Finally, he met the owl and sang:
And the owl said, “She passed me by.”
“Which way did she go?” said the fox.
The owl answered, “You must go over that gate[51] and across that field, and you will find her behind the wood.”
The fox ran away, over the gate and across the field and into the wood, but he did not find neither the girl nor the glass ball.
The Three Sillies
Once upon a time, there was a farmer and his wife who had one daughter. And a gentleman courted this girl. He came every evening to see her and stopped to supper at the farmhouse, and the daughter went down into the cellar to bring the beer for supper. So one evening she went down to bring the beer, and she saw a mallet that was hanging on the ceiling. She did not notice it before. She thought it was very dangerous to have that mallet there, and she said to herself, “If we marry, and we have a son, and he grows up and comes down into the cellar to bring the beer, the mallet will fall on his head and kill him. How awful!” And she sat down and began to cry.
Her father and the gentleman were wondering upstairs where the girl disappeared, and her mother went down to look for[52] her. She saw that the girl was sitting and crying, and the beer was running all over the floor[53].
“What’s the matter?” said her mother.
“Oh, mother!” says she. “Look at that horrid mallet! If we marry, and we have a son, and he grows up and comes down into the cellar to bring the beer, the mallet will fall on his head and kill him. How awful! How awful!”
“Dear, dear! That’s really terrible!” said the mother, and she sat down and started to cry, too. Then the father began to wonder that they didn’t come back, and he went down into the cellar. They were sitting and crying, and the beer was running all over the floor.
“What’s the matter?” says he.
“Oh,” says the mother, “look at that horrid mallet. Just think: if our daughter and her sweetheart marry, and they have a son, and he grows up and comes down into the cellar to bring the beer, the mallet will fall on his head and kill him. How awful! How awful!”
“Dear, dear, dear! It is so dreadful!” said the father, and he sat down and started to cry, too.
Now the gentleman went down into the cellar too, to see what they were doing there. They three were sitting and crying side by side[54], and the beer was running all over the floor. And he ran and turned the tap.
Then he said, “What are you three doing? Why are you sitting and crying?”
“Oh!” says the father, “look at that horrid mallet! Just think: if you and our daughter marry, and you have a son, and he grows up and comes down into the cellar to bring the beer, the mallet will fall on his head and kill him. How awful! How awful!” And then they all started to cry worse than before.
But the gentleman smiled and took the mallet, and then he said, “I travelled many miles, and I never met such big sillies as you three before. Now I shall start my travels again, and when I can find three bigger sillies than you three, then I’ll come back and marry your daughter.” So he wished them good-bye and went away. The three sillies were all crying because the girl lost her sweetheart.
Well, he travelled a long way, and at last[55] he came to a woman’s cottage. It had some grass on the roof. And the woman was trying to get her cow to go up a ladder[56] to the grass. So the gentleman asked the woman what she was doing. “Look at all that beautiful grass,” she said, “I’m going to feed my cow with it.” “Oh, you poor silly!” said the gentleman, “you must cut the grass and throw it down[57] to the cow!”
Well, that was one big silly.
Then the gentleman came to an inn. In the morning he saw a strange man. He hang his trousers on the knobs of the chest of drawers[58] and ran across the room and tried to jump into them. At last, he stopped and wiped his face with his handkerchief. “Trousers,” he says, “are the most terrible kind of clothes in the world. Who could invent such things?! I usually spend an hour to get into my trousers every morning!” So the gentleman laughed, and showed him how to put the trousers on[59].
So that was another big silly.
Then the gentleman came to a village. Outside the village there was a pond, and round the pond was a crowd of people. And they had rakes, and brooms, and pitchforks, and they were piercing the water of the pond. The gentleman asked what was the matter. “Don’t you see[60],” they say, “Moon fell down into the pond, and we can’t catch it!” So the gentleman laughed and told them to look up into the sky and that it was only the shadow in the water. But they didn’t listen to him and abused him.
And he saw more and more sillies, even more than three. So the gentleman came back home again and married the farmer’s daughter. And if they didn’t live happily, that’s nothing to do with you or me[61].
The Old Woman and Her Pig
An old woman was sweeping her house, and she found a sixpence. “What,” said she, “shall I do with this little sixpence? I will go to market and buy a little pig.”
While she was coming home, she came to a stile, but the pig did not want to go over the stile.
She went a little further, and she met a dog. So she said to the dog, “Dog! bite the pig; the pig doesn’t go over the stile, and I shan’t get home tonight.” But the dog refused.
She went a little further, and she met a stick. So she said, “Stick! stick! beat the dog! The dog doesn’t bite the pig, the pig doesn’t get over the stile, and I shan’t get home tonight.” But the stick refused.
She went a little further, and she met a fire. So she said, “Fire! fire! burn the stick; the stick doesn’t beat the dog, the dog doesn’t bite the pig, the pig doesn’t get over the stile, and I shan’t get home tonight.” But the fire refused.
She went a little further, and she met some water. So she said, “Water, water! quench the fire; the fire doesn’t burn the stick, the stick doesn’t beat the dog; the dog doesn’t bite the pig; the pig doesn’t get over the stile, and I shan’t get home tonight.” But the water refused.
She went a little further, and she met an ox. So she said, “Ox! ox! drink the water; the water doesn’t quench the fire, the fire doesn’t burn the stick, the stick doesn’t beat the dog, the dog doesn’t bite the pig, the pig doesn’t get over the stile, and I shan’t get home tonight.” But the ox refused.
She went a little further, and she met a butcher. So she said, “Butcher! butcher! kill the ox; the ox doesn’t drink the water, the water doesn’t quench the fire, the fire doesn’t burn the stick, the stick doesn’t beat the dog, the dog doesn’t bite the pig, the pig doesn’t get over the stile, and I shan’t get home tonight.” But the butcher refused.
She went a little further, and she met a rope. So she said, “Rope! rope! hang the butcher, the butcher doesn’t kill the ox, the ox doesn’t drink the water, the water doesn’t quench the fire, the fire doesn’t burn the stick, the stick doesn’t beat the dog, the dog doesn’t bite the pig, the pig doesn’t get over the stile, and I shan’t get home tonight.” But the rope refused.
She went a little further, and she met a rat. So she said, “Rat! rat! gnaw rope, rope doesn’t hang the butcher, the butcher doesn’t kill the ox, the ox doesn’t drink the water, the water doesn’t quench the fire, the fire doesn’t burn the stick, the stick doesn’t beat the dog, the dog doesn’t bite the pig, the pig doesn’t get over the stile, and I shan’t get home tonight.” But the rat refused.
She went a little further, and she met a cat. So she said, “Cat! cat! kill the rat, the rat doesn’t gnaw the rope, the rope doesn’t hang the butcher, the butcher doesn’t kill the ox, the ox doesn’t drink the water, the water doesn’t quench the fire, the fire doesn’t burn the stick, the stick doesn’t beat the dog, the dog doesn’t bite the pig, the pig doesn’t get over the stile, and I shan’t get home tonight.” But the cat said to her, “If you go to that cow and fetch me a saucer of milk, I will kill the rat.”
So the old woman went away to the cow.
But the cow said to her, “If you go to that haystack and fetch me some hay, I’ll give you the milk.”
So the old woman went away to the haystack, and she brought the hay to the cow.
When the cow ate the hay, it gave the old woman the milk, and she went with it in a saucer to the cat.
When the cat lapped up[62] the milk, the cat began to kill the rat, the rat began to gnaw the rope, the rope began to hang the butcher, the butcher began to kill the ox, the ox began to drink the water, the water began to quench the fire, the fire began to burn the stick, the stick began to beat the dog, the dog began to bite the pig, the little pig in a fright jumped over the stile, and so the old woman got home that night.
Jack and the Beanstalk
There was once upon a time a poor widow who had a son named Jack and a cow named Milky-white. Every morning the cow gave the milk which they carried to the market and sold. But one morning Milky-white gave no milk, and they didn’t know what to do.
“What shall we do, what shall we do?” said the widow.
“Oh, mother, I’ll go and get work somewhere,” said Jack.
“We tried that before, and nobody took you,” said his mother. “We must sell Milky-white.”
“All right, mother,” says Jack. “I’ll sell Milky-white, and then we’ll see what we can do.”
So he took the cow’s halter in his hand and went to the market. While he was going, he met an old man who said to him: “Good morning, Jack.”
“Good morning to you,” said Jack and wondered how he knew his name.
“Jack, where are you going?” said the man.
“I’m going to the market to sell our cow there.”
“Oh, I have five beans,” said the man, “and let’s change[63]: your cow for these beans.”
“You swindler,” says Jack, “it won’t go![64]“
“Ah! you don’t know what these beans are,” said the man. “If you plant them over-night, by morning they grow right up to the sky[65].”
“Really?” says Jack. “I don’t believe you.”
“Yes, that is so, and if this is not true, you can have your cow back.”
“Good,” says Jack and gives him over Milky-white’s and takes the beans.
Jack came home happily.
“So what[66], Jack?” said his mother. “I see you don’t have Milky-white, so you sold her. How much did you get for her?”
“You’ll never guess, mother,” says Jack.
“Oh no! Good boy! Five pounds, ten, fifteen… Or twenty?”