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                  -Presents-
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         JACK AND HIS GOLDEN SNUFF-BOX
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         traditional English folk tale 

ONCE upon a time, and a very good time it was, though 
it was neither in my time nor in your time nor in anyone
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 were 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 charming princesses, he would go wild 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 beside 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 the time when this 
talk was going on between him and his poor old mother.

The old woman began 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 for 
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 to the top of the
house, and she cursed him as far as she could see him.

He presently met with his father, and the old man said 
to him: ‘Where are you going, my poor boy?’ when the son 
told the father the same tale as he told his mother. 
‘Well,’ said his father, ‘I’m sorry to see you going 
away, but if you’ve made up 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 took his breakfast, and 
had a good look 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 was worse to come yet.



The gentleman now made a large hunting party, and 
invited all the gentlemen around the country to it, and 
to see the castle as well. And by this time Jack had 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 snuff-box poor Jack had left behind by mistake. 
And that man opened the little box, and there hopped out 
the three little red men, 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 came back, and the castle 
upon the twelve golden pillars had disappeared, to the 
great disappointment of those gentlemen who did not see 
it before. Poor silly Jack was threatened to have his 
beautiful young wife taken from him, for deceiving them 
as he did. But the gentleman at last made an agreement 
with him, and he was to have a twelvemonths and a day to 
look for it; and off he went with a good horse and money 
in his pocket.

So off poor Jack starts 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 he did try to 
stop Jack from going in. Jack asked the little red men 
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 there came 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 
preside at the organ, and the women were the singers, 
for they had a grand chapel in the castle already. 
Strange to say, 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 nightcap, which he never 
forgot to wear, a sight they never witnessed before, and 
which could not help making them laugh long and loud and 
heartily. And poor things! through their not going on 
with what they begun, they very near came to danger, as 
the castle was once all but sinking in the middle of the 
sea.

At length, after a merry journey, they came 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 twelvemonths and a day was drawing to a 
close; and he, wishing to go home to his young wife, 
gave 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 should be left under his care until 
it’s sent for. Jack took a farewell of the king, 
thanking 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 king, and there they left the castle under his 
care. As Jack had to leave the castle behind, he had to 
take his own horse, which he left there when he first 
started.

So our 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 come out to 
meet him, hindered as she was by her parents. But that 
did not stop long. Jack put full power on and set off 
with the three little men to bring on the castle, 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 jolly, bonny 
young son, and they all lived happy ever afterwards.

                      -The END-