"Well," said the giant, "what news, Cousin Jack?"
"Dear uncle," said Jack, "I have heavy news."
"Pooh!" said the giant, "what heavy news can come to me? I am a giant
with three heads, and can fight five hundred men, and make them fly
before me."
"Alas!" said Jack, "here's the king's son coming with two thousand men
to kill you, and to destroy the castle and all that you have."
"Oh, Cousin Jack," said the giant, "this is heavy news indeed! But I
have a large cellar underground, where I will hide myself, and you
shall lock, bolt, and bar me in, and keep the keys till the king's son
is gone."
Now, when Jack had barred the giant fast in the vault, he went back
and fetched the prince to the castle; they both made themselves merry
with the wine and other dainties that were in the house. So that
night they rested very pleasantly while the poor giant lay trembling
and shaking with fear in the cellar underground. Early in the morning
Jack gave the king's son gold and silver out of the giant's treasure,
and accompanied him three miles forward on his journey. The prince
then sent Jack to let his uncle out of the hole, who asked him what he
should give him as a reward for saving his castle.
"Why, good uncle," said Jack, "I desire nothing but the old coat and
cap, with the old rusty sword and slippers, which are hanging at your
bed's head."
"Then," said the giant, "you shall have them; and pray keep them for
my sake, for they are things of great use. The coat will keep you
invisible, the cap will give you knowledge, the sword will cut through
anything, and the shoes are of vast swiftness; they may be useful to
you in all times of danger, so take them with all my heart."
Jack gave many thanks to the giant, and then set off to the prince.
When he had come up to the king's son, they soon arrived at the
dwelling of the beautiful lady, who was under the power of a wicked
magician. She received the prince very politely and made a noble feast
for him; when it was ended, she rose, and, wiping her mouth with a
fine handkerchief, said, "My lord, you must submit to the custom of my
palace; to-morrow morning I command you to tell me on whom I bestow
this handkerchief, or lose your head." She then left the room.
The young prince went to bed very mournful, but Jack put on his cap of
knowledge, which told him that the lady was forced, by the power of
enchantment, to meet the wicked magician every night in the middle of
the forest. Jack now put on his coat of darkness and his shoes of
swiftness and was there before her. When the lady came she gave the
handkerchief to the magician. Jack, with his sword of sharpness, at
one blow cut off his head; the enchantment was then ended in a moment,
and the lady was restored to her former virtue and goodness. She was
married to the prince on the next day, and soon after went back, with
her royal husband and a great company, to the court of King Arthur,
where they were received with loud and joyful welcomes; and the
valiant hero Jack, for the many great exploits he had done for the
good of his country, was made one of the Knights of the Round Table.
As Jack had been so lucky in all his adventures, he resolved not to be
idle for the future, but still to do what services he could for the
honor of the king and the nation. He therefore humbly begged his
majesty to furnish him with a horse and money, that he might travel in
search of new and strange exploits. "For," said he to the king, "there
are many giants yet living in the remote parts of Wales, to the great
terror and distress of your majesty's subjects; therefore, if it
please you, sire, to favor me in my design, I will soon rid your
kingdom of these giants and monsters in human shape."
Now when the king heard this offer, and began to think of the cruel
deeds of these blood-thirsty giants and savage monsters, he gave Jack
everything proper for such a journey. After this, Jack took leave of
the king, the prince, and all the knights, and set off, taking with
him his cap of knowledge, his sword of sharpness, his shoes of
swiftness, and his invisible coat, the better to perform the great
exploits that might fall in his way. He went along over hills and
mountains, and on the third day he came to a wide forest. He had
hardly entered it when on a sudden he heard dreadful shrieks and
cries, and, forcing his way through the trees, saw a monstrous giant
dragging along by the hair of their heads a handsome knight and a
beautiful lady. Their tears and cries melted the heart of honest Jack;
he alighted from his horse, and, tying him to an oak-tree, put on his
invisible coat, under which he carried his sword of sharpness.
When he came up to the giant he made several strokes at him, but could
not reach his body on account of the enormous height of the terrible
creature; but he wounded his thighs in several places, and at length,
putting both hands to his sword, and aiming with all his might, he cut
off both the giant's legs just below the garter; and the trunk of his
body, tumbling to the ground, made not only the trees shake, but the
earth itself tremble with the force of his fall. Then Jack, setting
his foot upon his neck, exclaimed, "Thou barbarous and savage wretch,
behold, I come to execute upon thee the just reward for all thy
crimes," and instantly plunged his sword into the giant's body. The
huge monster gave a groan, and yielded up his life into the hands of
the victorious Jack the Giant-killer, while the noble knight and the
virtuous lady were both joyful spectators of his sudden death. They
not only returned Jack hearty thanks for their deliverance, but also
invited him to their house, to refresh himself after his dreadful
encounter, as likewise to receive a reward for his good services.
"No," said Jack, "I cannot be at ease till I find out the den that was
the monster's habitation."
The knight, on hearing this, grew very sorrowful, and replied: "Noble
stranger, it is too much to run a second hazard; this monster lived in
a den under yonder mountain, with a brother of his, more fierce and
cruel than himself; therefore, if you should go thither, and perish in
the attempt, it would be a heart-breaking thing to me and my lady; so
let me persuade you to go back with us, and desist from any further
pursuit."
"Nay," answered Jack, "if there be another, even if there were twenty,
I would shed the last drop of blood in my body before one of them
should escape. When I have finished this task, I will come and pay my
respects to you."
So when they had told him where to find them again, he got on his
horse and went after the dead giant's brother.
Jack had not ridden a mile and a half before he came in sight of the
mouth of the cavern, and nigh the entrance of it he saw the other
giant sitting on a huge block of timber, with a knotted iron club
lying by his side, waiting for his brother. His eyes looked like
flames of fire, his face was grim and ugly, and his cheeks were like
two flitches of bacon; the bristles of his beard seemed to be thick
rods of iron wire, and his long locks of hair hung down upon his
broad shoulders like curling snakes. Jack got down from his horse and
turned him into a thicket; then he put on his coat of darkness and
drew a little nearer to behold this figure, and said, softly, "Oh,
monster! are you there? It will not be long before I shall take you
fast by the beard."
The giant all this while could not see him, by reason of his invisible
coat, so Jack came quite close to him, and struck a blow at his head
with his sword of sharpness; but he missed his aim, and only cut off
his nose, which made him roar like loud claps of thunder. He rolled
his glaring eyes round on every side, but could not see who had given
him the blow; so he took up his iron club, and began to lay about him
like one that was mad with pain and fury.
"Nay," said Jack, "if this be the case, I will kill you at once." So
saying, he slipped nimbly behind him, and jumping upon the block of
timber, as the giant rose from it, he stabbed him in the back, when,
after a few howls, he dropped down dead. Jack cut off his head and
sent it, with the head of his brother, to King Arthur by a wagon which
he had hired for that purpose. When Jack had thus killed these two
monsters, he went into their cave in search of their treasure. He
passed through many turnings and windings, which led him to a room
paved with freestone; at the end of it was a boiling caldron, and on
the right hand stood a large table, where the giants used to dine. He
then came to a window that was secured with iron bars, through which
he saw a number of wretched captives, who cried out when they saw
Jack, "Alas! alas! young man, you are come to be one among us in this
horrid den."
"I hope," said Jack, "you will not stay here long; but pray tell me
what is the meaning of your being here at all?"
"Alas!" said one poor old man, "I will tell you, sir. We are persons
that have been taken by the giants who hold this cave, and are kept
till they choose to have a feast; then one of us is to be killed, and
cooked to please their taste. It is not long since they took three for
the same purpose."
"Well," said Jack, "I have given them such a dinner that it will be
long enough before they have any more."
The captives were amazed at his words.
"You may believe me," said Jack, "for I have killed them both with the
edge of this sword, and have sent their large heads to the court of
King Arthur, as marks of my great success."
To show that what he said was true, he unlocked the gate and set the
captives all free. Then he led them to the great room, placed them
round the table, and placed before them two quarters of beef, with
bread and wine, upon which they feasted their fill. When supper was
over they searched the giant's coffers, and Jack divided among them
all the treasures. The next morning they set off to their homes, and
Jack to the knight's house, whom he had left with his lady not long
before.
He was received with the greatest joy by the thankful knight and his
lady, who, in honor of Jack's exploits, gave a grand feast, to which
all the nobles and gentry were invited. When the company were
assembled, the knight declared to them the great actions of Jack, and
gave him, as a mark of respect, a fine ring, on which was engraved the
picture of the giant dragging the knight and the lady by the hair,
with this motto round it:
"Behold in dire distress were we,
Under a giant's fierce command;
But gained our lives and liberty
From valiant Jack's victorious hand."
Among the guests then present were five aged gentlemen, who were
fathers to some of those captives who had been freed by Jack from the
dungeon of the giants. As soon as they heard that he was the person
who had done such wonders, they pressed round him with tears of joy,
to return him thanks for the happiness he had caused them. After this
the bowl went round, and every one drank the health and long life of
the gallant hero. Mirth increased, and the hall was filled with peals
of laughter.
But, on a sudden, a herald, pale and breathless, rushed into the midst
of the company, and told them that Thundel, a savage giant with two
heads, had heard of the death of his two kinsmen, and was come to take
his revenge on Jack, and that he was now within a mile of the house,
the people flying before him like chaff before the wind. At this news
the very boldest of the guests trembled; but Jack drew his sword, and
said: "Let him come; I have a rod for him also. Pray, ladies and
gentlemen, do me the favor to walk into the garden, and you shall soon
behold the giant's defeat and death."
To this they all agreed, and heartily wished him success in his
dangerous attempt.
The knight's house stood in the middle of a moat, thirty feet deep and
twenty wide, over which lay a drawbridge. Jack set men to work to cut
the bridge on both sides, almost to the middle, and then dressed
himself in his coat of darkness and went against the giant with his
sword of sharpness. As he came close to him, though the giant could
not see him for his invisible coat, yet he found some danger was near,
which made him cry out:
"Fa, fe, fi, fo, fum,
I smell the blood of an Englishman;
Let him be alive, or let him be dead,
I'll grind his bones to make me bread."
"Say you so, my friend?" said Jack; "you are a monstrous miller,
indeed!"
"Art thou," cried the giant, "the villain that killed my kinsmen? Then
I will tear thee with my teeth and grind thy bones to powder."
"You must catch me first," said Jack; and throwing off his coat of
darkness, and putting on his shoes of swiftness he began to run, the
giant following him like a walking castle, making the earth shake at
every step.
Jack led him round and round the walls of the house, that the company
might see the monster; then, to finish the work, he ran over the
drawbridge, the giant going after him with his club; but when he came
to the middle, where the bridge had been cut on both sides, the great
weight of his body made it break, and he tumbled into the water, where
he rolled about like a large whale. Jack now stood by the side of the
moat, and laughed and jeered at him, saying, "I think you told me you
would grind my bones to powder; when will you begin?"
The giant foamed at both his horrid mouths with fury, and plunged from
side to side of the moat; but he could not get out to have revenge on
his little foe. At last Jack ordered a cart-rope to be brought to him:
he then drew it over the giant's two heads, and, by the help of a team
of horses, dragged him to the edge of the moat, where he cut off his
heads; and before he either ate or drank, sent them both to the court
of King Arthur. He then went back to the table with the company, and
the rest of the day was spent in mirth and good cheer.
After staying with the knight for some time, Jack grew weary of such
an idle life, and set out again in search of new adventures. He went
over hills and dales without meeting any, till he came to the foot of
a very high mountain. Here he knocked at the door of a small and
lonely house, and an old man, with a head as white as snow, let him
in.
"Good father," said Jack, "can you lodge a traveller who has lost his
way?"
"Yes," said the hermit, "I can, if you will accept such fare as my
poor house affords."
Jack entered, and the old man set before him some bread and fruit for
his supper. When Jack had eaten as much as he chose, the hermit said:
"My son, I know you are the famous conqueror of giants; now, at the
top of this mountain is an enchanted castle, kept by a giant named
Galligantus, who, by the help of a vile magician, gets many knights
into his castle, where he changes them into the shape of beasts. Above
all, I lament the hard fate of a duke's daughter, whom they seized as
she was walking in her father's garden, and brought hither through the
air in a chariot drawn by two fiery dragons, and turned her into the
shape of a deer. Many knights have tried to destroy the enchantment
and deliver her, yet none have been able to do it, by reason of two
fiery griffins, who guard the gate of the castle, and destroy all who
come nigh; but as you, my son, have an invisible coat, you may pass by
them without being seen; and on the gates of the castle you will find
engraved by what means the enchantment may be broken."
Jack promised that in the morning, at the risk of his life, he would
break the enchantment; and after a sound sleep he arose early, put on
his invisible coat, and got ready for the attempt. When he had climbed
to the top of the mountain he saw the two fiery griffins; but he
passed between them without the least fear of danger, for they could
not see him because of his invisible coat. On the castle gate he found
a golden trumpet, under which were written these lines:
"Whoever can this trumpet blow,
Shall cause the giant's overthrow."
As soon as Jack had read this he seized the trumpet and blew a shrill
blast, which made the gates fly open and the very castle itself
tremble. The giant and the conjuror now knew that their wicked course
was at an end, and they stood biting their thumbs and shaking with
fear. Jack, with his sword of sharpness, soon killed the giant, and
the magician was then carried away by a whirlwind. All the knights and
beautiful ladies, who had been changed into birds and beasts, returned
to their proper shapes. The castle vanished away like smoke, and the
head of the giant Galligantus was sent to King Arthur. The knights and
ladies rested that night at the old man's hermitage, and the next day
they set out for the court. Jack then went up to the king, and gave
his majesty an account of all his fierce battles. Jack's fame had
spread through the whole country, and at the king's desire the duke
gave him his daughter in marriage, to the joy of all the kingdom.
After this the king gave him a large estate, on which he and his lady
lived the rest of their days in joy and content.