seven which the Lord had given him, so it was destined from its birth
to be lucky. It was christened John, because all dunces and upstarts
are named John. The father loved little Jack like the very apple of
his eye. It could not have been otherwise, since the boy was the
youngest of seven children and the smallest, chubbiest, and fattest of
them all. But the father doesn't count for every thing. He comes and
goes, appears and vanishes, the house is only a sleeping-place for
him. The mother is the real soul of the household; she bathes one,
feeds another, and scrubs for a third. Jack was his mother's boy, his
mother's pet, his mother's darling, his mother's handsomest and
brightest child.
They say it is not well for one person to be every thing, the lowest
to be highest, and the child to govern the house. Jack grew larger
every day, and the larger he grew the more quarrelsome, obstinate,
and consequently self-willed he became. So there was often, nay, to
tell the whole truth, _very_ often, anger in the house on the boy's
account. Jack daily heard some harsh word; but as it proved that words
made no impression, punishment frequently followed. Ah! but Jack was
the youngest of seven. The one who punished suffered, not the one who
was chastised. If the father whipped Jack, the mother wiped away his
tears; if the mother slapped him, she took care not to let her husband
know it. It is a bad example, when a child breaks a pot, for the
mother to set to work to pick up the pieces; things are then in a bad
way, and it is well not to waste another word about them.
So it ended. Jack became a very disobedient child, and disobedience
avenges itself on the disobedient. If his father wanted to teach him
anything, and said: "My dear Jack, look, do it so, this is right; this
is the way oxen are harnessed in front of carts, this is the way the
nail is driven into the wheel, this is the way sacks are carried," and
other useful lessons, Jack's mind was fixed on other things, and he
replied, "Oh! let me alone." And so from one "Oh! let me alone," to
another "Oh! let me alone," Jack grew into a big boy without having
even learned so much as that a plow has handles, a mill is not a
mortar, and a cow is not an ox. And he couldn't do much in this way.
One day his father was preparing to go to the fair. Every thing was
ready except one pin, which had not yet been put through the yoke.
"Father," said Jack, "I'm coming with you."
"It will be better for you to stay at home, that you may not be lost
in the market," replied his father.
"I want to go--"
"I won't take you."
"I _will_ go."
"I won't take you."
Every body knows what forward children are. The instant they are told
that a thing can't be had, they want to seize it by force. His father
could not help himself, so he set Jack in the wagon and drove off with
him to the fair.
"Mind," he said, "you must keep close to me." "Yes, father," said
Jack, obediently, for the first time in the memory of the family. And
until they reached the end of the village, Jack sat as if he were
nailed to the back of the cart. At the end of the village he put out
one foot, then he raised his head and began to look around him.
Finally he stood up, leaned on the side of the cart, and began to
watch the wheels. He could not understand how one wheel moved of its
own accord, how one spoke hurried after another, constantly going
forward without stirring from the spot, nay, without moving from under
his own nose.
They reached the woods. Jack perked up his nose and stared with his
mouth wide open. The trees on the right and left set out and ran with
all their might, one after another. There must be witchcraft in it.
Jack jumped out of the cart and again felt the solid ground under his
feet. But he once more stood with his mouth wide open. The trees now
stood still, but the cart moved on further and further. "Stop,
father, stop, so I can see how the wheels turn," the boy called after
a while.
But now his hair fairly bristled with fear. He heard his shout
repeated from ten different directions, while his father drove on
without noticing his cry. "Father!" he called again, and again he
heard the word ten times. Jack was terribly frightened, and seeing
that no place was as pleasant as home, began to run back there.
Nothing but a cloud of dust could be seen behind him. He ran on and on
toward home till he turned into the wrong road.
Now you can see how unfortunate it is for inexperienced people not to
listen to the advice of wiser ones! Jack had done wrong in trying to
run home when he did not know the way through the forest. He ran for a
long time, then gradually slackened his pace and at last began to
walk, but kept on through forest after forest, across a meadow, and
through the woods again, then across another meadow, till he was
completely tired out, and weary of his life.
"Lord, have mercy on me, I will always be obedient in future," he
cried, at last--and his heart must have been very heavy when he
uttered such words.
After that he did not walk much further. A short distance off, on the
edge of the woods, stood a village. Jack jumped for joy when he saw
it, and did not stop till he was in the middle of it. Then he went
from house to house, and the further he went the more he wondered that
he found all kinds of houses except his own home. He did not know what
to do, and began to cry.
"What are you crying about, my son?" asked a man who was coming back
from the fields in front of a cart drawn by four oxen.
Jack told his story, and the man pitied him. "What is your name?"
asked the kind-hearted peasant. "Jack," replied the boy.
"But your father, what is his name?"
"His name is father," the lad answered.
"What is the village where you belong called?"
"Village!" he said.
So Jack could answer no questions, and the man could do nothing to
help him. He therefore took him into his service as plow-boy, for he
needed just such a lad to guide the oxen while he held the handles of
the plow. Thus Jack became the servant of a worthy man in the village
on the edge of the forest. But he was of little use, because he had
not paid attention when good instruction was given him. And whoever
does not know how to do any thing well, must expect a great deal of
scolding.
One day Jack's master was preparing to go to market. "Listen, Jack,"
he said, "grease the cart thoroughly, for we're going to market
to-morrow."
Jack said "Yes," took the grease, and began to scratch his head. He
did not know how to grease a cart. He had never listened when he had
been told, nor looked when he might have seen it; so now he did not
know what to do. Finally, from what he had hitherto learned, he
recollected that the beginning of a cart is at the yoke, that is, the
pole. So he thought he must commence there if he wanted to do the
business thoroughly. He greased the thills, the pole, even the rack
of the cart. Here he stopped, for there was no grease left. So he went
to ask for some.
"Master," he said, after entering the room, "give me some more
grease."
"Why in the world do you want more grease?" replied his master
angrily, "I gave you enough to grease the cart three times over."
Jack said that there had only been enough for the thills, pole, and
rack. When his master heard such words, he took Jack by the ear, led
him out, and gave him such a beating that never again in his whole
life did he forget that only the axles of a cart are to be greased.
Well, what was the mother's darling to do--he was obliged to bear it,
and then pay attention, that he might learn how to grease a cart.
After the cart was ready, the oxen were put in and the master took his
seat in front, but Jack crouched in the back of the cart like a little
heap of misery, sobbing now and then from having wept so much.
"Silence," said his master sternly, "don't let me hear another word
from you!" This was the last thing before they drove off.
Jack sat as still as a mouse; he was almost afraid to breathe. At
last, this grew tiresome. So he began to watch the wheels again. But
he was wiser now, and did not wonder at the wheels or the trees. Yet
he saw something he could not understand. Often as he had seen a wheel
go round, he had never noticed the pin spring from it. The cart passed
over a big stone, and, "klirr," the pin bounced out of the axle and
fell on the ground. It was pretty to look at, but the lad didn't
understand it. He would have liked to ask his master, but the farmer
had ordered him to be silent. After some time the nut loosened. Jack
thought he understood why. Directly after--bump dropped the nut, too,
and was left behind the cart. Jack started and was going to say
something, but looked at his master and remembered that he had been
ordered to keep still. But one thing he did understand--if the nut had
dropped on account of the nail, the wheel would come off for want of
the nut. He had scarcely comprehended this, when crack! the wheel fell
into the dust and was left behind the cart.
The cart moved on awhile upon three wheels, then it upset, breaking
the pole in two. Now they were in a bad fix.
"There it is," cried Jack in terror, "didn't I say that would happen?"
We will waste no more words on this subject! The farmer was in _such_
a rage! To be in the middle of the road with a broken pole is no joke.
The farmer seized Jack, gave him another sound thrashing, and then
told him to be off that he might cause him no more trouble. He was
really in the wrong, for he had himself forbidden Jack to speak. But
Jack was to blame, too--if he had always obeyed, he would have learned
long before just how far such an order went. He had been too obedient,
obstinately obedient. And that isn't well either.
The farmer continued his journey as best he could, but Jack was left
on foot in the middle of the road. Alas! Woe betide him, I really
don't know what he is to do. He turned into a path he did not know,
and hoped to reach home. Again he walked over meadows and through
forests, walked for a long, long time, till his feet would scarcely
carry him. This time he found a village in a beautiful meadow, and
outside the village was a man watching a flock of sheep grazing.
"How do you do, good sir!"
"Thank you kindly, may you grow tall, my son."
One word led to another, and Jack briefly told the man his whole
story, from beginning to end, and the peasant was pleased, because,
just at that time, he needed a shepherd-boy to drive the little flock
to pasture, lead them to water, and watch them that they might not
mingle with others. They were a particular breed of sheep, and he
would not have had them injured on any account. Such sheep, it was
reported, were owned only by one emperor, from whom the peasant had
obtained the single lamb. So they were sheep, well--we can imagine how
beautiful they were, since they had descended from a lamb that
belonged to an emperor!
Jack was glad, too, because he found himself in luck again. So they
made a bargain, and Jack became a shepherd boy.
"You must watch the sheep the whole livelong day, drive them down into
the valley to drink, and when it grows dark bring them back to the
fold. If it seems cold, make a fire at the entrance of the pen, and
that the sheep may not freeze, drive them into the fold." These were
the peasant's orders, and Jack said he would do exactly as he was
told.
During the day Jack watched the sheep; when he was thirsty he led them
down to drink, and as it grew dark drove them to the fold. This fold
was a strange contrivance. Jack had never seen one before. It was
inclosed by a fence of woven willow branches, roofed with rushes that
the rain might not injure it, but in one place an opening had been
left, over which was a roof made of reeds, supported by posts. "That's
the entrance to the fold," said Jack to himself, delighted with his
penetration.
As he was cold he made a fire in the opening, just under the
reed-roof. A fire is a fine thing, and Jack warmed himself by it. Then
he remembered that his master had told him he must drive the sheep
into the fold, to keep them from freezing. True, he did not understand
why they should be any warmer inside the fold than outside, but he did
as he was ordered. Seizing the finest ram, the one which wore the big
bell round its neck, he pushed it through the opening into the fold.
But lo and behold! The fire was burning in the gap, and the ram was so
scorched that not a thread of wool was left on its body.
"Oho, now I understand it," cried Jack, still more pleased. "The sheep
must go through the fire to keep them from freezing."
And, as he felt that he was doing right, he thrust all the sheep into
the fold one after the other.
Suddenly he noticed that the fence, the thatching, and the roof above
the opening had all taken fire and were blazing merrily. Jack stood
perfectly still. He had never seen any thing of the sort and rejoiced
over carrying out his orders so well, for he perceived that the sheep
could not possibly be cold in the midst of the fire. So he contentedly
watched the work he had accomplished. One thing he did wish--that his
master was there, so that he might have said, "See how well I
understand tending sheep."
And the wish was fulfilled. His master was just sitting at the table
eating bread and onions, because it was a fast day. He looked out of
the window and saw a great fire on the mountains, and gazing more
attentively at it, noticed that it was in the direction of his fold.
This seemed queer. With his mouth full he left the house, walked
faster and faster, broke into a run, and went higher and higher up the
hill-side till at last, panting for breath, he reached his fold.
Alas! Alas! What a sight! The fold burned down, the sheep of the
imperial breed one and all roasted, so that one might have supposed
they were nothing but overripe melons. That was a bad job, really a
very bad job! Jack had done a great deal of mischief, and might be
thankful to escape with a flogging. And so it happened. The farmer,
enraged, nay, fairly furious, seized the cunning shepherd and beat
him, beat him so that he would have nearly killed him had not Jack
luckily escaped from his hands. But after he got away Jack took to his
heels and ran with all his might, so that he did not look round until
he was in the woods.
What was to be done then? That's the way a person fares when he has
no sense! If he had behaved himself, he would have been sitting
quietly in the house eating barley-sugar and milk.
Jack walked on and on through the forest, turning to the right and
left, forward and backward, hither and thither, on and on he went,
poor boy, trying to find some path that led home. He was so hungry and
thirsty that he sucked the dew from the leaves and ate the oak-apples
and acorns he found on the ground; then he grew tired and cross and
frightened. Woe betide any one who loses the way in a forest!
Night came on, and darkness surprised him in the terrible woods. His
hair stood on end and he was so terrified that a chill ran through
every vein when he heard the wolves, bears, and all sorts of wild
beasts howling and panting in the forest. There was no escape now.
Then he saw a large tree with a hole in its trunk big enough to
shelter him. Nearing it he noticed that this hole had been hollowed
out. That was all right. He would hide in it to keep from being
devoured by the wild beasts, and was so delighted to find himself safe
that he no longer felt sorrowful or hungry. When we have escaped a
great danger, we no longer think of small annoyances. Jack fell asleep
from fatigue, and was just dreaming that he was at home eating millet
and milk, when suddenly, piff, paff, puff, he heard a shot and started
up in terror.
What had happened? Only a few paces from him twelve big, horrible
robbers, foot-pads, had assembled with their captain, made a fire,
roasted an ox, and were just tapping a cask of good wine; they were
going to have a carouse. When Jack saw the ox on the spit he began to
feel almost famished. Dear me! he was so hungry that he would gladly
have turned into a wood-worm and gnawed the tree. The poor lad, in his
inexperience, did not know what terrible people robbers are, so he
came out of the hole and approached them. This was not wise. Robbers
are not to be trifled with.
Jack said he would like something to eat too. The robbers all stared
at him, then drew their knives and swords and began to whet them to
cut him in pieces and kill him before you could say Jack Robinson.
That's the way with robbers. They don't stand on much ceremony.
"Stop," said one of them. "Might not this boy be useful to us?"
"How?" asked another.
"Perhaps he's the seventh child, then he can find the iron-wort for
us," said the first speaker.
"That's true!" they all shouted.
So they questioned Jack, and were wild with delight when they learned
that he actually was the seventh of seven children. The point in
question was this--the robbers had learned that the emperor had
received an immense sum of money, all in gold, from a merchant who had
long been his debtor; the wicked men wanted to steal this treasure.
But the emperor had put it in a room closed with seven iron-barred
doors, and on each door were seven locks wrought with great skill, so
that no one could open them. So this was a real imperial business,
which required careful consideration. Therefore, the robbers had gone
to a witch, that she might give them instruction and a powerful charm
by means of which they could force their way through the royal locks
and iron-barred doors. The witch had told them that nothing except
iron-wort would open the locks, and that the plant could be found only
by the seventh of seven children while he was still an innocent child,
in the gray dawn of morning, when it gleamed in the meadows among the
other herbs. Moreover, whoever had the plant must then make a gash in
his finger, lay it in the cut, and leave it there till the wound had
healed, so that it might remain in the finger. After that any piece of
iron, lock, bolt, or chain, no matter how strong it might be, would
open at his bidding. Such a plant would be to the robbers not merely a
source of amusement, but a valuable possession. So they entertained
Jack and made him a soft bed where he could sleep soundly; but they
told him that they would kill him if he didn't find the plant. All
night long poor Jack dreamed of searching for the stalk of the herb.
At the first gray dawn the robbers waked the boy and sent him to look
for it.
Jack crept along on all fours, and while in this position, looking
over the stalks of the plants in the meadow, he instantly saw one that
glistened. That was the one he wanted! That was iron-wort!
Among the robbers was a one-eyed man, who had been locked up in the
imperial dungeons and escaped loaded with fetters. The chains had
afterward been filed off, but the handcuffs were made of a special
kind of iron which fire did not melt and the file did not scratch.
Jack touched the handcuff with the plant, and "klirr!" it fell
rattling to the ground.
"Aha, may you be lucky, my son, you have freed me from an annoyance,"
said the delighted robber.
But when the captain took the plant from Jack's hand to remove the
second handcuff, he labored in vain, the iron would not obey him. The
witch had not told them that the herb would obey no one except the
person appointed by fate to find it.
So the robbers saw that the iron-wort would do them no good, and
perceiving this they became very angry and sharpened their knives and
swords to kill Jack.
"Stop," cried the one-eyed brigand. "You have said that you would not
murder him if he could find the plant for us. He has found it. As men
of our word, we must not kill him."
And they did not, for robbers are men of their word; whether it is
good or evil, what they have promised they perform. Yet, fearing Jack
might give them up to justice, they found another way to get rid of
him.
What did they do? They seized Jack and put him in an open cask, then
closed it, drove iron bands around it, and went away. It was an evil
deed.
So Jack went from good to bad, and from bad to worse, till at last we
see him fastened up in a wine-cask. What was to become of him! just
think, inside of a cask--that's the end of every thing! Jack began to
cry, howl, and shriek till the hungry wolves heard him and came
running up, thinking they could devour him. But they could do nothing
but lick their chops. Jack was shut up in the cask. As soon as he
discovered that the wolves were near, he looked through the bung-hole
and kept perfectly still.
The wolves then fell upon the remains of the ox and fought greedily
over the bones. One, the largest and fiercest, seized a bone and
crouched down with it close by Jack's cask--Jack hardly dared to
breathe.
Suddenly he saw the wolf's hairy tail come through the bung-hole. Jack
was terribly frightened. The tail came further and further in, and
Jack grew more and more alarmed. At last the wolf shook itself and
leaned further back, so that the whole tail entered and touched Jack's
nose. This was a bad business! Jack trembled with fear, and in his
terror clutched the wolf's tail with both hands and held on with all
his might. The wolf was frightened, too, and took to flight, dragging
the cask after it. You ought to have seen the wonder; helter-skelter
went the brute, banging the cask against the trees, up hill and down
dale. The wolf running, the cask following, Jack holding tight to the
tail--that was worth seeing! Suddenly, helter-skelter the cask struck
against a wall and burst open. The wolf ran on, but Jack found himself
at home again, holding fast in both hands the wolf's tail, which had
been torn off.
So fared mother's darling Jack. Whoever knows any thing more may
continue his story.
Tellerchen.
Once upon a time something very extraordinary happened. If it had not
happened, it would not be told.
There was once a husband and wife. The husband had a son by a former
marriage, and the wife had a daughter by her first husband. This
wicked woman could not bear the sight of her husband's son. One day
she said: "Husband! If you don't send that boy away, I can't eat at
the same table with you any longer."
"But where shall I send him, wife? Let him stay till he is a little
older, then he will set up housekeeping for himself."
"I mean just what I told you--choose."
When the man saw that he could do nothing with his wife, he said to
the boy: "My dear son, you see I am growing old. I can no longer do
work enough to need no assistance. Your mother won't have you here. So
go wherever the Lord may lead you to earn your daily bread, and, if it
is His will, I'll come to see you now and then if I can."
"I see, dear father, that my step-mother can't bear the sight of me,
yet I don't know why. I have never been disobedient to her, but have
always done every thing she told me; still, it is all in vain, she
can't endure me. So I will go and work wherever God may guide me. I
shall be able to earn my daily bread, for I'm a stout, capable lad.
But come and see me if you can, father, for I feel as if I should die
of longing for you."
"Go and prosper, my dear son; may the Lord help you."
"May we have a happy meeting, dear father."
And the poor boy, with tears streaming down his cheeks, left his
father's house. He walked on till at last he met a rich man, to whom
he hired himself as a servant. He remained in service seven years, and
his master was well satisfied, but suddenly such a longing for his
father seized upon him that he could bear it no longer. He told his
employer that he was going to see his parents, and his master said:
"Boy, you have worked on my farm seven years, and served me well. Does
the place no longer suit you, or have you been offered higher wages
elsewhere, that you want to leave me?"
"No indeed, master. But I long to go home,--I feel as if I wanted to
see my father again. If you think you still owe me any thing, please
settle my account."
"Well, my boy, one can't keep a servant by force, and you fixed no
rate of wages when you came to me. As a reward for the services you
have rendered, you may choose from my herds two head of horned cattle
and ten smaller ones."
When the boy heard this, he hardly knew what to do with himself in his
delight at the thought of having earned so much by his labor. He went
among the herds and flocks, looking up and down, and wondering which
animals he should choose. He did not want to take the best ones,
because he thought his services were not worth so much. But neither
did he want to select the worst, he could not make up his mind to
that. So he chose from those of medium value. He did the same with the
horned cattle. But in searching his eyes fell upon an ox, which also
gazed longingly at the youth. So he took this ox and a cow.
Now he had no other thought in his mind except to go to his parents,
believing that his step-mother would no longer look askance at him. So
he bade his master good-by and went away. Just think, the ox was
bewitched, but the boy did not know it. He named the animal
Tellerchen.