i' '^lifi *«* *e brown,_so called from the colour of their clothes,-the former of which are charming little elves, that are always friendly to the SbLrw £ Ut °1 7 *?° ° f the mounta « s ^e inhabited by these; the brown ones, that fill the ' 107 THE NINE MOUNTAINS. remaining mountains, are not exactly bad, but wanton and tricksy. There were also black dwarfs, Vfko were wonderfully clever in all sorts of arts, and excellent smiths, but deceitful and mischievous, and not to be trusted ; but none of these lived in that neighbourhood. The dwarfs were fond of dancing in the moonshine on a fine summer's night; and formerly many a child was enticed by the sweet sound of their music, which they mistook for birds, and were carried away under ground by the little people, whom they were condemned to serve for fifty years. At the end of their time, the elves are obliged to give back all their captives; and it is well for the latter that they never become older than the age of twenty, even though they had completed their half-century's du- rance. All come back young and beautiful, and generally meet with great luck in the world, either because they have become wise and ingenious during their stay below, or that the little people help them unseen, and bring them gold and silver. But now- a-days, said Klas, people had grown more cautious; the spot was avoided ; and it only seldom happened that children were stolen. And in process of time, too, as the old cowherd remarked, ^ nac ^ been found 108 THE NINE MOUNTAINS. out that, if any mortal was lucky enough to find or steal a cap belonging to one of the under-ground folk, he might go down in safety, and could not be detained against his will ; and, so far from becoming their seryant, the owner of the cap was obliged to do his bidding in every thing. These wonderful tales had so fired little Johnny's imagination, that he thought of nothing but gold and silver cups, and glass shoes, and pockets full of ducats, and all the rest of the fine things described by the old cowherd as occasionally bestowed on their favourites by the dwarfs ; and when midsummer came, and the nights were the shortest, he could resist no longer, but away he slunk afte* \lark, and went and lay down on the top of the higV-st of the nine mountains, which Klas had informed him was their principal dancing-place. It must be confessed the little fellow felt some strange misgivings, and his heart thumped against his breast like a sledge-hammer ; yet there he remained in breathless expectation from ten till twelve o'clock, at which hour he began to hear a rustling all around him, and the laughing, singing, and piping of innumerable little people, some of whom were dancing, and others playing a thousand merry 10 109 THE NINE MOUNTAINS. antics. Johnny half shuddered as he heard them swarming about, (for he could not see them, afe their caps made them invisible,) but he had sufficient pre- sence of mind to lie perfectly quiet, and to pretend to be fast asleep, except that- he now and then stole a dance, just to see if there was any chance of get- ting one of these diminutive beings into his power. Su?e enough, before long three of the dwarfs ap- proached the spot where he by, though without perceiving him, and began to play at tossing their no THE NINE MOUNTAINS. caps up into the air, when one snatched his play- mate's cap out of his hand in frolic sport, and flung it away. ' The cap flew right over Johnny's face, when he caught it softly, and, ringing the little silver bell affixed to it in high glee, he put it on his head, when he suddenly beheld the little subter- ranean people in countless thousands, they being now no longer invisible to his sight. The three dwarfs now came slily up to him to endeavour to snatch back the cap, but the little boy held it fast, and they saw that they should not succeed in that way, for Johnny was a giant to them, as they only reached to his knees. So the owner of the cap humbled him- self before the finder, and begged him to restore his property; but Johnny said, "You shall not get it, you cunning little rogue. I should have fared badly among you if I had not obtained some token of yours ; but, as it happens, you must do my bidding. I have a fancy to go under ground and see what the place is like, and you must be my servant, as you well know." The little being pretended not to hear or to understand, and continued whining most pite- ously, till Johnny ordered him very imperiously to bring him supper, as he was hungry. Away the 111 THE NINE MOUNTAINS. dwarf was obliged to scamper, and brought back bread, fruit, and wine, in a trice. And Johnny supped like a king, while he watched the games and the dancing of the little subterranean people. When the cock had crowed three times, all was hushed in an. instant, and nothing more was heard but hundreds of tiny feet tripping away to their respective mountains, which opened to receive them. On the top of the mountain where the ball had been held, and which but a moment before was covered 112 THE NINE MOUNTAINS. with grass and flowers, there now rose a glass peak, which opened as each elf stepped upon it, and then closed again after they had slid down. As soon as all the inhabitants had entered, the peak disappeared entirely; while those who had fallen through the tube sank softly into a broad silver barrel, capable of holding a thousand such little folk as these, and which was fastened to silver chains that were drawn downwards and secured below. Johnny and his bondsman fell down with many others, and they all cried out to him to entreat him not to tread upon them, as his weight would kill them. He, however, took great care not to hurt any one. Several bar- rels were thus successively filled, till all had reached home. Johnny was much surprised, on being let down, at the brightness of the walls, which seemed to be made of diamond ; and when he was once below, he heard such lovely music that he was lulled immediately into a deep slumber. When he woke, he felt as if he had slept a long while, and he found himself in the softest, neatest bed, such as he had never even seen before, which stood in the nicest chamber ; while by his side stood 10* 113 THE NINE MOUNTAINS. his little brown elf, (for it was amongst the brown jackets that Johnny had fallen,) chasing away the flies with a feather fan, lest they should disturb his master's rest. Scarcely had Johnny opened his eyes, when his little valet brought him a basin and a towel, and then an elegant suit of clothes, made of brown silk, and a pair of black shoes with red ties, far smarter than any Johnny had ever seen in Rambin or Eodenkirchen. Besides these, several pairs of the most beautiful glass shoes were laid by ready THE NINE MOUNTAINS. to be worn on holidays. The little boy was vastly pleased to have such nice clothes given him, and was very willing to let himself be dressed. No sooner was his toilet completed, than the elf went and returned, on the wings of the wind, with a golden tray, bearing a bottle of sweet wine, a bowl of milk, fruit, bread, and a number of nice dishes, such as children are fond of. In short, a more obedient servant there could not be; a look from his master was enough without the help of words, for, like all the rest of the .little people, the elf was wonderfully shrewd. After breakfast, the dwarf opened a closet, in which were stowed away a number of bowls, chests, and vases containing gold and precious stones, while on another shelf stood a whole library of story-books filled with pretty pictures. Johnny was so well amused with looking at these, and admiring every thing around him, that he did not care to go out that morning. Indeed, the room itself might have excited the wonder even of those accustomed to a palace. Besides the snow-white bed with its satin pillows, there were curiously-carved chairs, inlaid with pre- cious stones. Near the walls stood white marble tables, and a couple of smaller ones made of eme- us TEE NINE MOUNTAINS. raid ; and at one end of the chamber were hung two looking-glasses set in jewelled frames. The walls of the chamber were wainscoted with table emeralds, and a large diamond ball was suspended from the ceiling, and shed so bright a light that no other lamp was necessary. For it must be observed, that neither sun, moon, nor stars are to be seen under ground ; nor is there any distinction between the seasons, which seems at first rather a drawback, but the 116 THE NINE MOUNTAINS. temperature is always as mild as our spring, and the lustre of the precious stones supplies the place of" daylight. Yet it is to be remarked that their days are never so bright, nor their nights so dark, as upon earth. So that all things have their compensation. At noon a bell rang, when the serf cried, " Master, will you dine alone, or with the rest of the company?" " With the company," replied Johnny. The elf then led him forth, when Johnny, seeing nothing but a number of passages brilliantly lit up with precious stones, and little men and women, who popped out one by one, apparently from clefts in the rock, in- quired where the company was. He had scarcely spoken, before the passage through which they were passing widened, and became an immense hall, with a large dome inlaid with diamonds, and Johnny per- ceived a countless throng of elegantly-dressed little men and women entering by a number of open doors, while tables loaded with delicious viands came up through the floor, and chairs arranged themselves ready for the guests. The principal personages now came to welcome Johnny, and placed him at table by the side of some of the loveliest maidens. The dinner was very gay, for the under-ground folks are 117 THE NINE MOUNTAINS. remarkably cheerful and frolicsome ; and there was the sweetest music all the time, proceeding from a number of artificial birds, so cunningly made by these clever little people that they sang and flew about as though they had really belonged to the feathered tribes that inhabit our woods. The elves were waited upon by the boys and girls who had fallen into > their power from having come down without previously securing a pledge; and it was they who sprinkled the floor with perfumes, who handed about the golden goblets, and presented silver and crystal baskets full of fruits to the guests. These youths and maidens were dressed in white, with blue caps, silver girdles, and delicate glass shoes, so that their steps could always be heard. Johnny pitied them at first, till he saw how cheerful and how rosy they looked, and then he reflected that they were much better off than he used to be when he drove the cows. After the party had sat at the social board for a couple of hours, the principal elf rang a bell, and the tables and chairs disappeared, and laurels, palm-trees, and orange-trees grew up in their stead, and the little people fell to dancing, till about what we should call 118 THE NINE MOUNTAINS. four o'clock in the afternoon, when they slipped away one by one, and went either to their work or to amuse themselves in some other manner. At night, supper was held just as merrily, after which the elves went up out of their mountain, while Johnny laid himself quietly in bed, after saying his prayers as usual. Johnny led this life for many weeks, during which he saw but little of the elves, except at dinner and at supper, as each lived in his own little crystal house, deep in the bosom of the mountain, which was trans- parent from one end to the other, though not to the eyes of a mere child of earth. Yet occasionally he met a stray elf hurrying along, when he was taking a walk with his little serf. For he had found out there were lakes, and fields, and trees, here below, just as on the earth above ; only there was a crystal vault that invariably led from one meadow, or one lake, into another district, though each patch of land or sheet of water was sometimes a mile in circumference. It was during one of these walks, after he had been many months below, that Johnny once perceived a snow-white figure, with long white locks, vanish through a crystal wall in the rock; when he asked his servant whether any of the elves were dressed in 119 THE NINE MOUNTAINS. white, like the youths and maids in waiting. The elf told him there were a few such, who were the oldest and most learned among them; that they were several thousand years old, and never appeared at table except once a year, on the birthday of the mountain king, nor left their chambers except to teach the children of the dwarfs and those of mortal birth, for whom there was a separate school. When Johnny heard this, he scolded his serving manikin for not having told him sooner that there was a school, and he ordered him to conduct him thither the next day, as he had a great wish to acquire some learning. So on the morrow Johnny went to school, where the children received excellent instruction in arts and sciences, besides being taught poetry and literature and different kinds of handicraft. Johnny soon grew to like his book better than any idle amusement, and acquired, besides, the art of drawing and painting, and grew so clever a goldsmith 'that he could imitate fruit and flowers in precious stones,. to admiration. And here Johnny found many play- mates, both among the boys and the girls, and spent several years very contentedly, until his edu- cation was quite completed. 120 p»tt $ in gffeffc. Hans had served his master for seven long years, when he said to him, " Master, my time is now up : so please to give me my wages, as I wish to return home to my mother." The master. answered, "You have served me like a trusty, honest fellow, as you are; and such as your services have been, so shall be your hire." And thereupon he gave him a piece of gold as large as Hans's head. Hans took a cloth and rolled up the lump of gold and slung it over his shoulder, and began to trudge home. As he went along, and kept setting one foot before the other, he happened to come up with a traveller, who was riding at a brisk pace on a lively horse. " Oh, what a delightful thing it is to ride!" cried Hans, aloud: "it is every bit as good as sitting on a chair: one doesn't knock one's toes against a stone, and one saves one's shoes, and yet one gets on, one hardly knows how." The man on horseback, having heard these wise 11 121 HANS IN LUCK. reflections, cried out to him, "Nay, then, Hans, why do you go on foot?" "Why, you see, I am obliged to carry this lump home," replied Hans, "and, gold though it be, it bothers me sadly, as I am obliged to hold my head on one side, and it weighs so heavily on my shoulder." "I'll tell you what," said the rider, stopping his horse : " we can make a bargain. Suppose I were to give you my horse, and you were to let me have your lump in exchange?" "That I will, and thank you too," said Hans; "but I remind you that you will have to drag it along as best you may." The traveller got down from his horse, and took the lump of gold, and then helped Hans to mount, and, having placed the bridle in his hand, said to him, " When you want to go very fast, you have only to smack your tongue and cry, 'Hop! hop !'" Hans was in great delight, as he sat on the horse, and found he rode along so easily and so pleasantly. After a while, however, he fancied he should like to go a little quicker : so he began to smack his tongue and to shout, "Hop ! hop!" 122 HANS IN LUCK. The horse set off at a brisk trot, and, before Hans had time to collect his thoughts, he was pitched into a ditch that divided the main road from the adjoining nelds. The horse would have cleared the ditch at a bound, had he not been stopped by a peasant, who was driving a cow along the same road, and happened to come up with the luckless rider just at this mo- ment. Hans crawled out of the ditch as best he might, and got upon his legs again. But he was 123 HANS IN LUCK. sorely vexed, and observed to the peasant that riding was no joke, especially when one had to do with a troublesome beast that thought nothing of kicking and plunging, and breaking a man's neck, and that nobody should ever catch him again attempting to mount such a dangerous animal. Then he concluded by saying, "How far preferable a creature is your cow! One can walk quietly behind her, let alone her furnishing you with milk, butter, and cheese, for certain, every day. What would I not give to have such a cow for my own!" . ^ "Well," said the peasant, "if thats all, 1 should not mind changing my cow for your horse." Hans agreed most joyfully to such a proposal, and the peasant leaped into the saddle and was presently out of sight. . Hans now drove the cow before him at a quiet pace, and kept ruminating upon the excellent bargain he had made. "If I have only a bit of bread,— and that is not likely to fail me,— I shall be able to add butter and cheese to it as often as I wish. If lieel thirsty, I need only milk my cow, and I shall have milk to drink." 124 HANS IN LUCK. On reaching a public house, he stopped to rest him- self, and in the fulness of his joy he ate up his dinner and supper all at one meal, and spent his two remain- ing farthings to purchase half a glass of beer. He then went his way, and continued driving his cow towards his mother's village. Towards noon, the heat grew more and more op- pressive, particularly as Hans was crossing a moor during a full hour's time. At length his thirst be- came so intolerable that his tongue cleaved to the roof of his mouth. "The remedy is simple enough," thought Hans, "and now is the time to milk my cow and refresh myself with a good draught of LStffr Ji? his , cow t0 ^ he stum P of a tree > and used his leather cap for a pail ; but, do what he would, about attempting to milk the cow in the most awk- ward manner imaginable, the enraged animal gave sTawl^ 7 ♦£* Wlth , h6r , hind le «> that laidW sprawling on the ground, where he remained half stunned for a long time, and scarcely able to recollect «* 125 HANS IN LUCK. Fortunately, there just came by a butcher trun- dling a wheelbarrow, in which lay a young pig. " What the deuce is the matter?" asked he, as he helped the worthy Hans to rise. Hans related what had happened, when the butcher handed him his flask, saying, " There, man, take a draught, and it will soon bring you round again. The cow has no milk to give, for she is an old animal, only fit for the yoke, or to be killed and eaten." 126 HANS IN LUCK. "Lord, now! who would have thought it?" said Hans, stroking his hair over his forehead. "It is, to be sure, all very well to have such an animal as that to kill, particularly as it yields such a lot of meat ; but then I don't much relish cow's flesh: it is not half juicy enough for me. I'd much rather have a young pig like yours. The flesh is far more tasty, to say nothing of the sausages." " I'll tell you what, Hans," quoth the butcher, " I'll let you have my pig in exchange for your cow, just out of kindness." " Now, that's very good of you, upon my word," replied Hans, as he gave him the cow, while the butcher took the pig out of the wheelbarrow, and put the string that was tied round the animal's leg into his new master's hand. As Hans went along, he could not help marvelling at his constant run of luck, which had regularly turned every little disappointment to the very best account. After a time he was overtaken by a lad who was carrying a fine white goose under his arm. They no sooner bid one another good-morrow, than Hans related how lucky he had been, and what ad- 127 HANS IN LUCK. vantageous bargains he had struck. The lad told him, in turn, that he was carrying the goose to a christening-dinner. "Only just feel how heavy it is," continued he, taking the goose up by the wings ; "it has been fattening these eight weeks. I'll be bold to say that whoever tastes a slice of it when it comes to be roasted, will have to wipe away the fat from each corner of his mouth." 128 HANS IN LUCK. "Ay," said Hans, as he weighed it in one hand, "it is heavy enough, to be sure; but my pig is not to be sneezed at, either." Meanwhile the lad was looking all around him with an anxious air, and then shook his head as he observed, " It's my mind your pig will get you into trouble. I have just come through a village where the mayor's pig was stolen out of its sty, and I'm mightily afraid it's the very pig you are now driving. It would be a bad job for you if you were caught with it, and the least that could happen to you would be a lodging in the black hole." Poor Hans now began to be frightened. "For goodness' sake,"" cried he, "do help me out of this scrape ; and, as you know this neighbourhood better than I do, pray take my pig in exchange for your goose." " I know I shall run some risk," replied the lad; " yet I haven't the heart to leave you in the lurch, either." And, so saying, he took hold of the rope, and drove away the pig as fast as he could into a by-way, while honest Hans pursued his road with the goose under his arm. 129 HANS IN LUCK. "When I come to think of it," said he to himself, U I have gained by the exchange. In the first place, a nice roast goose is a delicious morsel; then there will be the fat and the dripping to spread upon our bread for months to come ; and, last of all, the beau- tiful white feathers will serve to fill my pillow, and 130 HANS IN LUCK. I'll warrant I shall not want rocking to sleep. How pleased my mother will be !" As he passed through the last village on his way home, he saw a knife-grinder busily turning his wheel, while he kept singing, — "Old knives and old scissors to make new I grind, And round turns my wheel e'en as swift as the wind." 9 Hans stopped to look at him, and at last he said, "Your trade must be a good one, since you sing so merrily over your work." "Yes," replied the knife-grinder, " it is a golden business. Your true knife-grinder is a man who finds money as often as he puts his hand into his pocket. But where did you buy that fine goose?" " I did not buy it, but exchanged it for my pig." "And where did you get piggy from?" "I swapped my cow for it." "And how did you come by your cow?" "Oh, I gave a horse for it." " And how might you have obtained the horse?" "Why, I got it in exchange for a lump of gold as big as my head." " And how did you come by the gold?" "It was my wages for seven years' service." " Nay, then," said the knife- 131 HANS m LUCK. grinder, " since you have been so clever each time, you need only manage so as to hear the money jingle in your pocket every time you move, and then you will be a made man." " But how shall I set about that?" inquired Hans. "You must turn knife- grinder like myself; and nothing is wanting to set you up in the trade but a grindstone : the rest will come of itself. I have one here that is a trifle worn, but I won't ask for any thing more than your goose in exchange for it. Shall it be a bargain ?" " How can you doubt it ?" replied Hans : " I shall be the happiest man on earth. Why, if I find money as often as I put my hand in my pocket, what more need I care for ?" And he handed Mm the goose, and took the grindstone. " Now," said the knife-grinder, pick- ing up a tolerably heavy stone that lay on the ground by him, " here's a good solid stone into the bargain, on which you can hammer away, and straighten all your old crooked nails. You had better lay it on the top of the other." Hans did so, and went away quite delighted. "I was surely born with a golden spoon in my mouth," cried he, while his eyes sparkled with joy, "for lv2 HANS IN LUCK. every thing falls out just as pat as if I were a Sunday child." In the mean time, however, having walked since daybreak, he now began to feel tired and very hungry, as he had eaten up all his provisions in his joy at the. bargain he had made for the cow. By degrees he could scarcely drag his weary limbs any farther, and was obliged to stop every minute to rest from the fatigue of carrying the two heavy stones. At length he could not help thinking how much better it would be if he had not to carry them at all. He had now crawled like a snail up to a spring, where he meant to rest, and refresh himself with a cool draught; and for this purpose he placed the stones very carefully on the brink of the well. He then sat down, and was stooping over the well to drink, when he happened to push the stones in- advertently, and plump into the water they fell! Hans no sooner saw them sink to the bottom of the well, than he got up joyfully, and then knelt down to thank Heaven for having thus mercifully ridded him of his heavy burden without the slightest re- proach on his own conscience. For these stones were the only things that stood in his way. " There 12 133 HANS IN LUCK. is not a luckier fellow than I beneath the sun," exclaimed Hans ; and, with a light heart and empty- hands, he now bounded along till he reached his mother's home. 134 § m% tto <$uwt-§pttM. In the reign of King Arthur, there lived near the Land's End, in the county of Cornwall, an honest farmer, whose afcn Jack was a bold boy, who de- lighted in reading stories about wizards, giants, and fairies, and listened eagerly whenever anybody re- lated the brave deeds of the Knights of the Bound Table. Jack was fond of planning sieges and battles, and raising mimic ramparts, while tending the cattle in the fields ; and . as to wrestling, there were few or none equal to him, even among boys older than himself. So Jack thought he was a match for a giant who dwelt in a cavern on the top of St. Michael's Mount, and who for years had ravaged the coast, carrying off half a dozen oxen at a time on his back, and three times as many sheep and hogs round his waist. Still, little as Jack was, com- pared to such an adversary, he resolved to rid the country of such a nuisance, and, setting off one evening, with a horn, a pickaxe, and a dark lantern, he swam to the mount, at the foot of which he dug a deep pit before morning; this he covered with sticks and straw, and having strewed it with earth, 135 JACK THE GIANT-KILLER. so as to look like solid ground, he blew a loud blast on his horn which awoke the giant. " You saucy, villain," roared the monster, "you shall pay dearly for disturbing my rest: I will l^roil you for my breakfast." So saying, out came the giant with tremendous strides, when, lo! he tumbled right into the pit; and, before he could recover himself, Jack clove his skull with his pickaxe. The justices of Cornwall, on hearing of so bold a deed, sent for Jack, and, telling him he should henceforth be called Jack the Giant-Killer, presented him with a sword and belt on which was engraved, in golden letters, — " This is the valiant Cornish man That slew the giant Cormoran." The fame of Jack's exploit soon spread through- out the west of England, when another giant, called old Blunderbore, who inhabited an enchanted castle in the midst of a wood, vowed he would avenge his brother giajit, if ever he should get the audacious stripling in his power. Now, four months after Cormoran's death, Jack took a journey into Wales, and passed through this very wood; when, having fallen asleep by the side of a fountain, the giant 136 y JACK THE GrlANT-KILLER. found him on coming to draw water, and, seeing who he was from the lines on his belt, he laid him gently on his shoulder and carried him off to his castle. On reaching the castle, he found the floor covered with the skulls and bones of human beings, and the giant told him, with a horrid grin, that men's hearts eaten with pepper and vinegar were his tit-bits, and that he hoped to make a dainty meal on his heart. So saying, he locked Jack up, and went to invite another giant to dine with him. No sooner was he gone than Jack heard dreadful shrieks from several parts of the castle, while a mournful voice urged him to fly before the giant returned with another more savage than himself. Poor Jack was ready to go mad on hearing these words; and, running to the window, he saw the two giants coming along arm in arm. Luckily, there were two stout cords in the room, and Jack lost no time in making a noose at the end of each, and as the two giants entered the gates, which were under the win- dow, he threw the ropes over their heads, and fastening the ends to a beam in the ceiling, he pulled and pulled till both were black in the face, and then, sliding down with the help of the cords, he 12* 137 JACK THE GIANT-KILLER. drew his sword and killed them. Jack next took a bunch of keys from Blunderbore's pocket, and, on searching the castle, found three poor ladies tied up by their hair, and nearly starved to death. So Jack kindly gave them the castle and all it con- - tained, and proceeded on his journey to Wales. By the time night had come on, Jack had reached 138 JACK THE GIANT-KILLEE. a lonely valley, where he discovered a large, hand- some house. Having knocked at the gate, Jack was rather alarmed at being answered by a mon- strous giant with two heads, but with only one eye to each head. However, he spoke very civilly, and no sooner had Jack told him he had lost his way, than he welcomed him to his house, and showed him into a room, where he found a very good bed. Jack undressed himself, but could not get a wink of sleep; and presently he heard the giant in the next room, muttering to himself, — "Though you lodge with me this night, You shall not see the morning light ; My cluh shall dash your brains out quite." Hearing this, Jack got out of bed, and groped about the room till he found a thick log of wood, which he laid in the bed, while he hid himself in a corner of the room. In the middle of the night the giant came, and struck so many blows on the bed that he thought he had broken all Jack's bones. So we may fancy his surprise when his guest entered his room next morning, to thank him for his lodging. "Dear mel" stammered the giant, "is it you? 139 JACK THE GIANT-KILLER. and pray how did you sleep ? Did nothing disturb you in the middle of the night ?" " Nothing worth mentioning," replied Jack, care- lessly; " I believe a rat just napped me three or four times with his tail, but I soon went to sleep again." The giant was very much surprised, but he said nothing, and went to fetch two large bowls of hasty pudding for breakfast. Jack now thought it would be a good joke to make the giant believe he could 14a JACK THE GIANT-KILLER. eat as much as himself; so lie slipped the pudding into a leathern bag inside his coat, while he made believe to put it into his mouth. When breakfast was over, he said, "Now I will show you a trick." So saying, he took a knife and ripped up the bag, when all the hasty pudding fell out upon the floor. "Ods splutter hur nails!" cried the Welsh giant, "hur can do that hurself." So he plunged the knife into his stomach, and dropped dead. Jack continued his journey, and a few days after fell in with King Arthur's only son, who had travelled to Wales to deliver a beautiful lady from the power of a wicked magician. When Jack found that the prince had no attendants with him, he offered his services, which were thankfully accepted. The prince was so kind-hearted that he gave away his money to everyone he met; and, having parted with his last penny, he asked Jack what they should do to get food and lodging for that night. Jack begged him to leave that to him, for that two miles farther on there lived a giant with three heads, who could fight five hundred men. The prince feeling uneasy at the idea of claiming the hospitality of such a monster, Jack told him to stay behind, and 141 JACK THE GIANT-KILLER. he would manage him. Accordingly, on Jack rode, and knocked at the castle-gate. "Who is there?" thundered out the giant. " Only your poor cousin Jack/' said our hero. "Well, what news, cousin Jack?" asked the giant. "Bad news, dear uncle," quoth Jack. "Pooh!" answered the giant: "what can be bad news for me, who have three heads, and can fight five hundred men?" "Alas!" said Jack, "the king's son is coming with two thousand men, to kill you and destroy your castle." "This is bad news indeed, cousin Jack," cried the giant; "but I will hide myself in the cellar, and you shall lock me in, and keep the key till the king's son is gone." In the morning, when the prince had gone, Jack let out the giant, who, as a reward for saving his* castle, gave our hero a coat which made its wearer invisible, a cap which imparted knowledge, a sword which could cut through every thing, and shoes which lent a marvellous swiftness to the feet. Jack thanked the giant many times, and then joined the prince. They soon reached the castle where the beautiful lady was kept in thraldom by the wicked magician, and here Jack learned, by putting on his cap of knowledge, that the wizard U2 JACK THE GIANT-KILLER. I went every night into the forest to conjure up spirits : so he dressed himself in the coat of dark- ness, and, drawing on his shoes of swiftness, ran after liii and cut off his head, which ended the enchanlment and set the lady free. The prince married her the next day, and the royal pair pro- ceeded with their deliverer to the court of King Arthur, who was so pleased with his prowess that he made him a knight of the Bound Table. Jack begged the king to equip him, that he might return to Wales and rid his. majesty's subjects of all the remaining giants. To this King Arthur consented, and accordingly Jack took his leave of the court, and after travelling for three days reached a forest, which he had no sooner entered than he heard most dreadful shrieks, and on peeping through the trees he perceived a monstrous giant dragging along by their hair a handsome knight and his beautiful lady. Jack immediately alighted from his horse, and put on his invisible coat, under which he carried his sword of sharpness, and approaching the giant, who was so tall that he could not reach his body, he wounded him so severely on his knee that the huge monster fell to the ground, when Jack 143 JACK THE GIANT-KILLER. at once cut off his head. The knight and his lady now approached, and, thanking him most heartily, entreated him to come and rest himself at their house. "No," said Jack, r T cannot rest till I find out the den the monster inhabited." On hearing this, the knight grew very sorrowful, and told him that it was too much to risk his life a aecond time, for that the giant lived in a den under JACK THE GIANT-KILLER. a neighbouring mountain, with a brother yet fiercer and more cruel than himself. But our valiant giant- killer was not to be put off his purpose so easily, so straightway he mounted his horse and rode off. After riding a mile and a half, he came in sight of the mouth of the cavern, and saw the giant seated on a block of timber with a club by his side. Jack got down from his horse, and, putting on his coat of darkness, said, " So, here is the other mon- ster: I'll soon pluck him by the beard." He then struck a blow at his head, but missed his aim, and the giant, feeling wounded, yet seeing no one near, began to lay. about him with his club. Jack, how- ever, slipped nimbly behind him and quickly cut off his head, and sent it, together with that of his brother, to King Arthur. Next day Jack set out for the knight's house, where he was welcomed with great joy and feasting. When the company were assembled, the knight re- lated to them the Giant-Killer's exploits, and then presented Jack with a handsome ring, on which was engraved the picture of the giant dragging along ,the hapless couple. In the midst of the festivities a messenger rushed 13 145 JACK THE GIANT-KILLER. in with the news that Thundel, a giant with two heads, was coming to avenge the death of his kins- men. Jack immediately set some men to cut the drawbridge, that lay across the moat, almost to the middle, and, having put on his coat of darkness, he sallied forth to meet the giant. Though the giant could not see him, he sniffed his presence, and cried out, — Nfi JACK THE GIANT-KILLER. "Fee! foh! fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman : Be he alive, or be he dead, I'll grind his bones to make me bread." "You must catch me first," said Jack, and, fling- ing off his coat and putting on his shoes, he began to run, the giant following him like a walking castle. Jack led him round and round the moat, that the company might see him, and then ran over the drawbridge ; but when the giant, still pursuing him, came to the middle where the bridge had been cut, his weight snapped it at once, and he fell into the water. Jack then called for a rope, and, throw- ing a noose over his double neck, he drew him to the edge of the moat, and cut off his heads, which he likewise despatched to King Arthur. Jack then set out in search of new adventures, and at last reached the foot of a high mountain. Here he lodged for the night at the house of an old hermit, who, recognizing him as the famous Giant-Killer, told him that at the top of the moun- tain there was an enchanted castle, kept by a giant, who by the help of a wicked magician detained a number of knights and ladies whom he had changed 147 JACK THE GIANT-KILLER. into beasts ; and, among the rest, a duke's daughter, whom they had seized in her father's garden, and brought through the air in a chariot drawn by two fiery dragons, and then turned into a deer. " Many knights have tried to destroy the enchantment," added the hermit, "but none have succeeded, on account of two fiery griffins ; but you, my son, have an invisible coat, and can therefore pass them." Jack promised he would do all that lay in his power to break the enchantment, and, rising early next morning, he put on his invisible coat, and, climbing to the top of the mountain, passed between the fiery griffins, when he found a golden trumpet on the castle-gate, under which was written, — "Whoever can this trumpet blow Shall cause the giant's overthrow." Jack, then seized the trumpet and blew a shrill blast, which made the gates fiy open and the very castle tremble, while the giant and conjurer, know- ing their wicked course was at an end, stood biting their thumbs and shaking with fear. Jack killed the giant with his sword of sharpness, the magician was carried off by a whirlwind, and all the knights and ladies returned to their proper shapes, and the JACK THE GIANT-KILLER. castle vanished like smoke. The whole $>arty then set out for the court, and when ! King Arthur heard the account of Jack's noble deeds, he begged the duke to give him his daughter in marriage, and then presented him with a fine estate, on which the young couple lived for the rest of their days in peace and happiness. 149 ®to §owt ftftat $M §utti This is the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built. 150 THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT. This is the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built. 151 THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT. This is the cat, That kill'd the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built. 152 THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT. This is the dog, That worried the cat, That kill'd the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built. 153 THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT. This is the cow with the crumpled horn, That toss'd the dog, That worried the cat, That kill'd the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built. 154 THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT. This is the maiden all forlorn, That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn, That toss'd the dog, That worried the cat, That kill'd the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built. 155 THE HOUSK THAT JACK BUIET. This is the man all tatter'd and torn, That kiss'd the maiden all forlorn, That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn, That toss'd the dog, That worried the cat, That killed the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built. 156 THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT. This is the priest all shaven and shorn, That married the man all tatter'd and torn, That kiss'd the maiden all forlorn, That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn, That toss'd the dog, That worried the cat, That kill'd the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built. 14 157 THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT. 158 THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT. This is the cock that crow'd in the morn, That waked the priest all shaven and shorn, That married the man all tatter'd and torn, That kiss'd the maiden all forlorn, That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn, That toss'd the dog, That worried the cat, That kill'd the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built. 159 THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT. THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT, This is the farmer who sow'd the corn, ' That kept the cock that crow'd in the morn, That waked the priest all shaven and shorn, That married the man all tatter'd and torn, That kiss'd the maiden all forlorn, That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn, That toss'd the dog, That worried the cat, That kill'd the rat, That eat the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built. 14* 161 THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT. 162 THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT. This is the horse, and the hound, and the horn, That belong'd to the farmer who sow'd the corn, That kept the cock that crow'd in the morn, That awaked the priest all shaven and shorn, That married the man all tatter'd and torn, That kiss'd the maiden all forlorn, That milk'd the cow with the crumpled horn, That toss'd the dog, That worried the cat, That kill'd the rat, That ate the malt, That lay in the house that Jack built. 163 ptfc §0-f up. Little Bo-peep has lost her sheep, And cannot tell where to find 'em : Leave them alone, and they'll come home, And bring their tails behind 'em. 164 LITTLE BO-PEEP. Little Bo-peep fell fast asleep, And dreamt she heard them bleating When she awoke, she found it a joke, For still they all were fleeting. Then up she took her little crook, Determined for to find them : She found them indeed, but it made her heart bleed, For they'd left their tails behind them. It happen'd one day, as Bo-peep did stray Into a meadow hard by, There she espied their tails side by side, All hung on a tree to dry. 165 LITTLE BO-PEEP. She heaved a sigh, and wiped her eye, And over the hillocks she raced ; And tried what she could, as a shepherdess should, That each tail should be properly placed. 166 THE OLD WOMAN AND HER EGGS. ©to #M Wmm mft Uex $ggss. There was an old woman, as I've heard tell, She went to the market her eggs for to sell : She went to the market, all on a market-day, And she fell asleep on the king's highway. v 167 THE OLD WOMAN AND HER EGOS. There came a little peddler, — his name it was Stout ; He cut off her petticoats all round about : He cut off her petticoats up to her knees, Until her poor knees began for to freeze. When the little woman began to awake, She began to shiver and she began to shake : Her knees began to freeze and she began to cry, 11 Oh, lawk ! oh, mercy on me ! this surely can't be I. "If it be not I, as I suppose it be, I have a little dog at home, and he knows me : If it be I, he will wag his little tail ; JBut if it be not I he'll bark and he'll rail." 163 THE OLD WOMAN AND HEB EGGS. Up jump'd the little woman, all in the dark ; Up jump'd the little dog, and he began to bark : The dog began to bark, and she began to cry, " Oh, lawk ! oh, mercy on me ! I see it is not I. 1 ry^ 15 169 OLD MOTHEK GOOSE. m& p** mm, w Old Mother Goose, when She wanted to wander, Would ride through the air On a very fine gander. OLD MOTHER GOOSE, Mother Goose had a house : 'Twas built in the wood, Where an owl at the door For a sentinel stood. This is her son Jack, — A plain-looking lad : He is not very good, Nor yet very bad. She sent him to market : A live goose he bought : " Here, mother," says he, " It will not go for naught.' m OLD MOTHER GOOSE. Jack's goose and her gander Grew very fond : They'd both eat together, Or swim in one pond. Jack found one morning, As I have been told, His goose had laid him An egg of pure gold. Jack rode to his mother, The news for to tell : She call'd him a good boy, And said it was well. 172 OLD MOTHER GOOSE. Jack sold his gold egg] To a rogue of a Jew, Who cheated him out of The half of his due. Then Jack went a-courting A lady so gay, As fair as the lily, And sweet a3 the May. The Jew and the Squire Came close at his back, And began to belabour The sides of poor Jack. 15* * &» m OLD MOTHER GOOSE. They threw the gold egg In the midst of the sea ; But Jack he jump'd in, And got it back presently. The Jew got the goose, Which he vow'd he would kill, Besolving at once His pockets to fill. Jack's mother came in, And caught the goose soon, And, mounting its back, Flew up to the mooo# Dance, little baby, dance up high : Never mind, baby, mother is nigh : Crow and caper, caper and crow: There, little baby, there you go, Up to the ceiling, down to the ground, Backward and forward, round and round. 175 §*