"What gift may I give you before I go?" she asked.
"I should like," said Jack, "to have a little tiny bit of that purple
gown of yours with the gold border."
So she told Jack to lend her his knife, and with it she cut off a very
small piece of the skirt of her robe and gave it to him. "Now I advise
you," she said, "never to stretch this unless you want to make something
particular out of it."
"Will ye step aboard, my dearest?" sang the Fairy Woman as she sailed
away.
"Will ye step aboard, my dearest? for the high seas lie
before us.
So I sailed adown the river in those days without alloy.
We are launched! But when, I wonder, shall a sweeter sound
float o'er us
Than yon 'pull'e haul'e, pull'e haul'e, yoy! heave, hoy!'"
All Jack had to do to make his magic boat go wherever he wished was to
give it a command, so he ordered it to float up the river to Fairy-land.
It was not long before the towers of the castle of the Queen of
Fairy-land could be seen in the distance; and soon the castle, with its
beautiful gardens, was close beside them along the river bank. But Jack
did not dare to enter the castle until he was sure of a shelter of his
own. So he pulled and pulled at the piece of purple silk, until it
became large enough to make a splendid canopy like a tent. It roofed in
all the after-part of the boat, so now he had a delightful little home
of his own, and there was no fear of its being blown away, for no wind
ever blows in Fairy-land.