There was once a stout Cornish lad named Jack who had trained himself
in every sort of sport. He could wrestle and throw and swim better than
any other lad in the country; indeed there were few, even among the
men, who could equal him in strength and skill.
At that time there lived, on an island just off the coast of Cornwall,
a giant named Cormoran. This giant was the pest of the whole land. He
was twenty feet high, and as broad as any three men. People were so
afraid of him that when he waded over from his island to the mainland
they all ran and hid in their houses, and then he carried off their
flocks and herds as he chose, and asked no leave of anyone. Seven sheep
he ate at a meal, and three oxen were not too much for him. There was
much complaining through the land because of the way he wasted it.
Now Jack was as bold as he was strong, and he made up his mind to free
the people from this scourge of a giant. He waited for a dark night
when there was no moon, and then he swam from the mainland over to the
island. The waves were high and the water cold, but Jack paid no heed
to that. He took with him a pick, a shovel, an ax, and a horn.
As soon as he landed on the island he set to work to dig a pit in front
of the giant’s cave—a pit both wide and deep. The giant was asleep, for
Jack could hear him snoring in his cave, and so he knew nothing of what
was being done by the brave lad.
Toward morning the pit was finished. Then Jack covered it over with
branches, and scattered earth and stones over it so that no one could
have told it was any different from the ground around it. After that he
took his horn and blew a blast both loud and long.
The sound awakened the giant from his sleep, and he sprang to his feet
and came stumbling out from his cave. He glared about him and presently
his eyes fell upon Jack.
“Miserable dwarf!” he cried. “Is it you who has dared to disturb my
sleep? Wait but a moment until I have my hands on you, and I will
punish you as you deserve!”
Jack laughed aloud. “I fear you not!” he cried. “And as for punishing
me, you will find that easier said than done.”
The giant gave a cry of rage and sprang toward Jack, but no sooner
did he step upon the branches that covered the pit than they gave way
beneath him, and he fell down into the pit and broke his neck. There he
lay without sound or motion, and seeing that he was dead Jack left him
where he lay and swam back to the mainland.
When the people learned that the giant was dead and would trouble them
no more they went wild with joy. Jack was hailed as a hero and a belt
was given him on which were letters of gold that read—
“This is the gallant Cornishman
Who killed the giant Cormoran.”
And now the lad was no longer called plain Jack, but
Jack-the-Giant-Killer.
Now many miles away in a deep forest there lived still another giant
named Blunderbore. This giant was full as strong and great as Cormoran
had ever been.
When Blunderbore heard how the Cornish lad had killed Cormoran, and
that now he was called “Jack-the-Giant-Killer” he was filled with rage.
He swore he would find Jack and destroy him even as Cormoran had been
destroyed.
But Jack was no whit afraid. He had made up his mind to altogether free
the land from giants; and he wished nothing better than to try his wits
with Blunderbore. So one day he took a stout oak in his hand and set
out in search of the giant.
He walked along and walked along, and after awhile he came to a forest,
and there a cool spring bubbled up in the shade of the trees.
Jack was hungry and thirsty, and tired too, so he sat him down by the
spring and ate the bread and cheese he carried, and drank of the fresh
water, and then he stretched himself out and went fast asleep.
He had not been long asleep when the giant Blunderbore came by that
way. Blunderbore was very much surprised to see a youth lying there
and sleeping quietly beside his fountain, for none ever before had
dared to venture here into this forest for fear of him.
He saw a glitter of golden letters upon a belt the lad wore, and
stooping he read the words—
“This is the gallant Cornishman
Who slew the giant Cormoran.”
At once the giant knew who Jack was, and he was filled with joy at
the thought that now he had the lad in his power. He did not wait for
Jack to waken, but swung him up on his shoulder, and made off with him
through the forest.
Now Blunderbore was so tall that his shoulders were up among the
branches as he strode along, and the boughs whipped Jack in the face
and woke him from his sleep. He was greatly amazed to find himself
journeying along among the leaves on the giant’s shoulder instead of
resting quietly beside the fountain. However, he was not afraid. “I can
do nothing at present,” thought he to himself, “but after awhile the
giant will put me down, and then my wits will soon teach me a way to
get the better of him.”
The giant strode along without stop or stay until at last he came to a
great gloomy castle and, this was where he lived. He carried Jack in
through the door into the castle and up a flight of stone steps to a
room that was directly over the outer doorway. Here he came to a halt
and threw Jack down upon a heap of straw in the corner.
“Lie there for awhile, my little giant-killer,” cried he. “I have a
brother who is not only bigger and stronger than I am, but has more
wits as well. I will go off and fetch him, and after he gets here then
we will decide what to do with you.”
So saying the giant left the room, and after locking the door behind
him he made off across the hills in search of his brother.
No sooner was Jack left alone than he began to examine the room. He
quickly noticed that the door of the castle was directly under his
window. In one corner of the room lay a great coil of rope. Jack took
up this rope and made a slip noose in one end of it. This noose he hung
from the window. The other end he passed over a great beam overhead.
Then he sat down and waited for the monster to return.
He did not have long to wait. Soon he heard the giant and his brother
talking and grumbling together as they came up the road to the castle.
He waited until they had reached the doorway and were directly under
the window. Then he dropped the slip noose over both their heads.
Quickly snatching up the other end of the rope he pulled with all his
might and drew the two giants up into the air, struggling and kicking.
He then leaned from the window and with his sword he cut off both their
heads.
It did not take him long after that to slide down the rope and get
the keys that hung from Blunderbore’s belt. With these in his hand he
reëntered the castle and went all through it, unlocking door after door.
He opened the giant’s treasure-chamber and found it full of gold and
silver and jewels and all sorts of precious stuffs that had been stolen
from the people of the land, for Blunderbore was a great robber.
In the dungeons under the castle were many merchants and noblemen and
fair ladies whom the giant had robbed and kept as prisoners.
When these people found that Jack had come to free them, and that he
had killed the giant, they were so glad and grateful that there was
nothing they would not have done for the lad. Some of them wept for joy.
Jack led them to the treasure-chamber and bade them take all they could
carry of the treasures that were there. They would gladly have left it
all for him, but the lad would have none of it.
“No, no,” he said. “I have no need of riches, and if I were loaded down
with gold and silver I could not travel about so lightly as I do.”
He bade the grateful people good-by and journeyed on his way, leaving
them to find their own way home, which, no doubt they all did in good
time.
By evening of the next day Jack was well away from Blunderbore’s
forest, and just as he was wondering where he should find food and
shelter for the night he came to a great house and saw a light shining
from the windows.
He knocked, and the door was opened to him by a giant with two heads.
This giant was quite as wicked as either Cormoran or Blunderbore, but
he was very sly and cunning. Instead of seizing Jack and throwing him
into a dungeon he made him welcome. He set a hot supper before him, and
talked with him pleasantly, and after awhile he showed the lad to a
room where he could sleep.
But smiling and pleasant though the giant was Jack did not trust him.
He felt sure the monster was planning some mischief, so instead of
going to bed after the giant left him, he stole to the door of the room
and listened. He heard the giant striding up and down, and presently he
heard him mutter to himself,
“Though here with me you lodge to-night,
You shall not see the morning light,
Because I mean to kill you quite.”
“That you shall not,” thought Jack to himself. “And if you think I am
going to get into bed and lie there while you beat me with a cudgel you
are mistaken.”
He began to feel about the room, and presently he found a great billet
of wood. This he laid in the bed in his place, and drew the coverlet
over it, and then he hid in a corner of the room.
Not long afterward the giant opened the door. He crept over to the bed
very quietly and felt where the billet of wood was lying under the
covers. Then he took his club and beat it until, if Jack had been lying
there, he would certainly have been pounded to a jelly. After that the
monster went back to his own bed well satisfied, and slept and snored.
But what was his astonishment the next morning when Jack appeared brisk
and smiling and without so much as even a bruise upon him.
“Did—did you sleep well last night?” stammered the giant.
“Oh, well enough,” answered Jack, “but a rat must have run over the
bed, for I thought I felt him whisk his tail in my face once or twice.
I looked for him this morning, but I could not find him, so perhaps I
dreamed it.”
When the giant heard this he was frightened. He thought Jack must be
a wonderful hero to stand such blows as his and scarcely feel them.
However, he said no more, and the two sat down to breakfast together.
The giant ate and drank as much as ten men, but Jack had hidden a
leather bag under his doublet and he kept slipping the food into
this as fast as the giant set it before him. The monster wondered and
wondered that such a small man could eat so much.
After breakfast Jack said, “Now I will show you a trick, and if you
cannot do the same thing then you will have to own that I am the better
fellow of us two.”
To this the giant agreed. Jack then took a knife and ripped open the
leather bag that was hidden under his doublet.
“There!” he cried. “Can you do the like?”
The giant was amazed, for he never guessed that it was only a bag that
Jack had cut open. However, he was not to be outdone. Catching up a
knife he ripped himself open, and that was the end of him.
“The world is well rid of another monster,” said Jack, and leaving the
giant where he lay he set out in search of further adventures.
He had not gone far along the road when he met a young prince riding
along without any attendants to follow him. This Prince was the son of
the great King Arthur of Britain, and he had left his father’s court
and ridden out into the world in search of a lovely lady who had been
carried off by a magician. This magician held her prisoner by his
enchantments and it was to free her that the Prince had ridden forth
alone.
When Jack learned who the Prince was, and the adventure he was bent on,
he begged to be allowed to go along as an attendant.
“That is all very well,” said the Prince, “but if you travel with me
you will fare hard indeed. I have given away all my money, and I do not
know where to find food or even a place to sleep.”
“Do not let that trouble you,” said Jack. “Not far from here lives a
three-headed giant. He has a fine castle and a well-stocked larder.
Only leave the matter to me and I will arrange it so that you can spend
the night there and have a fine feast beside.”
At first the Prince was very unwilling to agree to this. The adventure
seemed to him a very dangerous one, but in the end Jack persuaded him
to agree to it, and mounting on the Prince’s horse he set out for the
castle, leaving the Prince to await him by the wayside.
Jack rode briskly along and it did not take him long to reach the
castle. He knocked boldly at the door.
“Who is there?” called the giant from within.
“It is your Cousin Jack, and I bring you news,” answered Jack.
The giant opened the door and looked out. “Well, Cousin Jack, and what
is the news you bring?”
Why, the news was that a Prince and his company intended to spend the
night in the giant’s castle, and were even then almost at the door.
If the giant were wise he would flee away and leave the castle to the
Prince. Then after the Prince and his company had gone the giant might
safely return again.
But no, the monster was not so easily to be scared out of his castle.
“I can drive back five hundred men,” cried he, “so why should I be
afraid?”
“Yes, but can you drive back two thousand?” asked Jack.
“Two thousand! Two thousand, did you say?” Why that was a different
matter, and if the Prince were coming with two thousand men at his
back, then it was indeed time for the giant to hide away. He then told
Jack where there was a secret chamber all made of iron. There he would
hide, and he begged the lad to lock him in, and not, for any cause to
unlock the door until the Prince had gone.
This Jack promised. He locked the giant in the secret chamber, and then
he rode back to fetch his master.
That night Jack and the Prince feasted right merrily on the good things
from the monster’s larder, and the next morning the Prince rode on his
way and Jack unlocked the chamber door and let the giant out.
“What a blockhead I am!” cried the monster as soon as he was free.
“Yonder in the corner lie the cap of darkness, the cloak of wisdom, and
the sword of sharpness. If I had only thought of putting on the cap no
one could have seen me, and I would not have had to hide in the secret
chamber.”
“That is true,” answered Jack. “But thanks to me you are safe at any
rate, and I think I should be rewarded.”
He then asked the giant to give him the cap, the cloak, and the sword,
and out of gratitude the giant agreed right gladly. “They will be of
more use to you than to me at any rate,” said the giant, “for when I
need them most is the time when I forget all about them.”
Jack took the cap, the cloak, and the sword and thanked the giant for
the gifts, and at once set out after the Prince, whom he found waiting
for him not far away.
They now journeyed on until they came to another castle where they
hoped to spend the night. Here they were made welcome, and bidden to
feast with the noble lady who was the mistress there. This lady was,
indeed, the very one of whom the Prince was in search, but he did not
know her, and she did not know him because of the spell of enchantment
that was upon her.
After the lady, the Prince, and Jack had feasted together the lady drew
out a precious handkerchief and passed it over her lips. “To-morrow,”
said she, “you shall tell me to whom I have given this handkerchief
in the night. If you cannot tell me this, you shall never leave this
castle alive.”
The Prince was greatly troubled when he heard these words, but Jack
bade him have no fear. He waited until the lady left them, and then
he put the cap of darkness on his head and followed her, and she could
not see him because of the cap. She did not know that anyone followed
her, and she went out from the castle and along a path to the edge of a
wood. There she was met by a tall dark man, and because of the cloak of
wisdom which he wore, Jack knew this man at once as a magician.
The lady gave him the handkerchief. “That is well,” said the magician.
“To-morrow I will change this bold Prince into another marble statue to
adorn my hall. As to his servant I will change him into a dog, a fox,
or a deer as the fancy strikes me.”
“That you shall not!” cried Jack, and drawing the sword of sharpness he
struck the magician’s head from his shoulders with one blow.
At once the lady was freed from the enchantment, and she looked about
her like one wakening from a dream. She did not know where she was nor
how she came there.
Jack led her back to the castle and no sooner did the Prince and she
meet than they knew each other. They were filled with joy, and the
Prince made ready to take her back with him to his father’s court. He
wished Jack to come with him, and promised that if he would he should
be made a great nobleman, but to this the giant-killer would not
consent. He still had work to do in his own country, and he would never
leave Wales until it was freed entirely from the pest of giants.
So the Prince and his lady bade Jack farewell, and rode away together,
while Jack set out in search of further adventures.
He had traveled a long distance, and night was falling when he heard
doleful cries sounding from a wood near by. A moment later a giant came
breaking out from the wood dragging a knight and a lady with him. He
had captured them and was taking them with him to his cave.
Without a moment’s pause, Jack put on his cap of darkness, and running
up close to the giant he cut him down with one single blow of his
sword. The lady and the knight were amazed. They had seen no one, and
yet the giant had suddenly fallen dead, cleft through with a sword.
They were still more amazed when Jack lifted the cap from his head and
appeared before them. He then explained to them who he was, and how he
had been able to kill the giant so strangely.
“This is a wonderful story,” said the knight, “and you have saved us
from worse than death.” He and his lady then begged Jack to come back
with them to their castle, and to this he agreed, for he was weary with
all his adventures.
When they reached the castle, a great feast was made ready, and Jack
was treated with the greatest honor. He sat at the knight’s right hand,
and all the best in the castle was none too good for him.
But while they were still in the midst of their feasting, a messenger
arrived in great haste. His face was pale, and his teeth chattered with
fear.
“What is it?” cried the knight. “What is the news you bring?”
“The giant! The great giant Thundel!” cried the messenger. “He has
heard that Jack-the-Giant-Killer is here, and he is coming to destroy
this castle and all who are in it.”
Even the knight turned pale at this news, but Jack bade him have no
fear. “I had intended to set out in search of this giant,” said he,
“but now he has saved me the trouble.” He then asked the knight to
send for a dozen stout workmen. This was done and Jack at once led the
workmen out to the bridge that crossed the moat, and bade them cut the
timbers almost through so that they would only bear the weight of one
man, or of two at most. This bridge was the only way of entrance, and
unless the giant crossed it he could not get to the castle.
While the workmen were still busy over their task, the giant appeared,
striding along toward the castle. At once Jack slipped on his cap of
darkness and hurried out to meet him.
The giant could not see Jack because of his cap of darkness, but his
sense of smell was very keen. He stopped short, and began to snuff
about him like a hound.
“Fee, fi, fo, fum!
I smell the blood of an Englishman;
Be he alive or be he dead,
I’ll grind his bones to make my bread!”
cried the giant.
“That is all very well,” said Jack, “but first you will have to catch
him.” He then jumped about from one side of the giant to the other.
“Here! Here I am!” he cried. “Here to the right of you! No, to the
left. Quick, quick, if you would catch me.”
The giant turned first one way and then the other, clutching at the
empty air, for Jack was invisible and so was easily able to keep out of
his reach.
At last the lad tired of the game. He looked behind him and saw that
the workmen had finished their task and had retreated to the castle.
He then caught the cap of darkness from his head and ran across the
bridge. “Now, you miller-giant, who would grind my bones, catch me if
you can,” he cried.
The giant gave a bellow of rage and ran after Jack, who had already
reached the other side. The timbers held till the giant was in the
middle of the bridge; then, with a great crash, they gave way beneath
him, and down he fell into the moat and was drowned. So Jack saved the
lives of the knight and his lady for the second time, and freed the
land of still another giant.
But now came the most dangerous of all of Jack’s adventures.
Gargantua was the greatest and most powerful of all the giants, and he
was a magician as well. He lived on the top of a high mountain, and
from there he would come down to rob and steal and carry off prisoners.
These prisoners he changed into various sorts of wild animals, and he
kept them in the gardens that surrounded his palace. He had carried off
a duke’s only daughter in this way, and had changed her into a doe.
The duke had been in despair over the loss of his daughter for she was
his only child and he loved her dearly. He promised that anyone who
brought her back to him should have her for his bride, and because she
was very beautiful many princes and brave heroes had gone in search of
her, but of them all none had ever returned.
It was this dangerous giant that Jack determined to seek out and
destroy.
He girded the sword of sharpness at his side and took his cap of
darkness and his cloak of wisdom and set out.
He journeyed on and journeyed on, and after awhile he came to a high
and rocky mountain, and at the very top of it he could see a great
castle with gardens around it and high walls.
Jack climbed up and up over rock and brier, stump and stone, until he
came to the gate of the garden. There he stopped to put the cap of
darkness on his head; then he ventured in.
The gardens were very fine, as he saw at once, and many animals were
grazing on the grass, or resting in the shadows. One of them, a
beautiful doe, raised its head and looked toward him, then at once came
over to him and rested its head on his arm, and looked up at him with
its great dark eyes.
Jack was very much troubled at this. He feared there was some
enchantment about the place that made him visible in spite of his cap
of darkness. However, none of the other animals paid any attention to
him, so he hoped it was only the doe that could see him.
He went on through the gardens until he came to the door of the castle,
and there hanging beside it was a golden horn, and on the horn were
these words:
“Whoever doth this trumpet blow
Shall soon the giant overthrow,
And break the black enchantment straight,
So all shall be in happy state.”
Jack raised the horn to his lips and blew a blast so loud and clear
that the castle echoed with it.
At once a wonderful change came over the garden. The doe beside him
changed into a maiden more beautiful than any Jack had ever dreamed of.
The wild animals became princes and heroes and noble ladies.
As for the castle itself, it fell into ruins; a great chasm yawned
under it, and into this chasm it crumbled with a dreadful noise,
carrying the giant with it. Then the ground closed over the ruins and
not a single stone was left to mark the place where the castle had
stood.
So ended the last of Jack’s adventures, and so perished the last and
most wicked of all his giant foes. From then on the land was at peace.
Jack was married to the beautiful maiden who had followed him as a
doe, and as she was the duke’s daughter the poor lad became very rich
and powerful. He and the duke’s daughter loved each other dearly, and
so they lived in great happiness all their lives, honored by everyone
about them.
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