Once upon a time there was a man who had three boys, Jack, Will and Tom. Will and Tom were the two oldest sons. Jack was just a little bit of a fellow, not hardly able to take care of himself – the old father thought.
So the old man just divided all of his land, cattle, sheep, and horses between two older boys, and they promised that they would take good care of little old Jack. But no sooner was the father gone than these two older brothers just began to see how bad and mean they could be to that little fellow. They made him do all of the housework, all of the cooking – just everything – and wait on them, hand and foot. And then even at that they were not kind to the little old fellow.
One day when they came in from the field to their dinner, Will said, “Jack, when you finish up with the dinner dishes, I guess you’d better go down to the edge of the woods and get that little old calf of yours and skin it. I’ve already cut a tree down on it and killed it.”
“Well, bedast, I will,” said Jack.
So after he finished the dinner dishes, he went down to the edge of the woods, and sure enough there lay his little old calf, the only thing he had the back of the barn, and let it dry good and hard. When it was just bone dry, he took that hide down to moisten it. Then he got him an old piece of shoe leather, made him a thong, and took an awl, and sewed that hide up, stuffed it with chips and straw. Then he took it by the tail and went dragging it up the path to the house, bumpty-bump, bumpty-bump, right up the path to the house. When he got to the porch, Will said:
“Jack, what in the world are you going with that thing?”
“Bedad, I’m going out into the world to make my fortune, that’s what I’m going to do with it. When I come back to this house, I’m going to come with gold.”
“Humph!” Will said, “I guess you’ll come with gold. You’ll be back here by supper time, good and hungry.”
Jack said, “You’ll see about that!”
He took his calf hid by the tail, bumpty-bump, bumpty-bump, right down the road in a cloud of dust. As far as they could see Jack, he was just a-traveling with the calf skin a dragging along behind him.
He walked all day, and late that evening he began to think about a place to spend the night. And looking along the road on this side and that side, he finally saw a nice looking house.
He thought, “I believe I’ll go up there and ask that lady at that house if she just won’t let me spend the night.”
When he knocked at the door, the woman came. “Please, kind lady, could I spend the night with you here?”
“Why, no son, you can’t. My husband isn’t at home. I’m just here by myself. No, you just go on down the road. You’ll find a place on further down.”
“Oh,” he said, “Lady, but I am so tired. Please – I won’t be a mite o’ trouble, just let me have a bed.”
“Oh, well, come on upstairs. What’s your name?”
“Jack.”
“All right, Jack come on! Go on upstairs to the top of the steps and go right into that door to your right. You can sleep there I reckon for the night.”
Jack went into the room and closed the door; and while it was just beginning to get dark enough for a light to show, he could see very well where his bed was. He didn’t light any lamp or anything. But he saw a knot hole right there in the middle of the floor.
He went over and put his eye down to that knot hole to see what he could see down in the world below. There sat a dining room table and the lady that had let him come into the room, with a traveler sitting on the other side of the table. They were eating and laughing and drinking, having the best time you have ever seen. And oh, there were the best things to eat on the table. There was chicken and cake and pie and jam and honey – just everything anybody would want.
Oh, Jack was so hungry! He wanted some of that food so bad he didn’t know what to do. But those people didn’t pay any attention to him.
“Oh,” the woman says, “Quick! Quick! That’s my husband coming home! Jump right quick over there in that big old chest. Don’t sit there!” And the traveler took one leap and went right into the big cedar chest, and the old woman closed the lid down over him and sat back down as if nothing had happened.
About that time somebody began knocking on the door, and exclaiming, “Old woman, old woman, let me in.” She began cleaning those things off the table just as fast as she could and brushed the table cloth clean. Then she went running over to the door, her arms reaching out toward the door as if in great haste.
The old man said, “What on earth is the matter with you? Why can’t you get here and let me in?”
“Oh,” she says, “my reumatiz is just a-hurting me so!”
“Well,” he says, “rheumatiz or no rheumatiz, I want some supper. I just about starved to death.”
“Why, old man, there’s not a thing in this world in this house to eat but just corn bread and milk.”
“Well, bedads, corn bread and milk is just good enough for anybody. Set it out here on the table!”
She went to the kitchen and brought back a great big plate of corn bread, a great pitcher of the best looking milk, and a big old spoon and a bowl. The old man just began crumbling in the bread and pouring in milk and oh, he was having a good time eating.
Jack, all the time, had his eye right down to that know hole. He stood that just as long as he could, and he didn’t stay idle a minute. He took that old calf hide by the tail, gave it a shake or two over the floor, and ooh, it was the strangest sounding noise. The old man looked up and says,
“Old woman, what is that?”
“Oh,” she says, “it’s just the poorest looking little shab of a boy you’ve ever seen in your life that I let go upstairs to sleep.”
“I’ll bet you didn’t give him a bite of supper.”
“Why, law no, I supposed he had had his supper long ago.”
“What was the boy’s name, old woman?”
“Jack is all he told me.”
The old man walked out into the hall and said,
“Jack, Jack, son, don’t you want to come down here and get you a bite of something to eat?”
“Well bedads, I don’t care if I do,” said Jack.
She he took his old calf hide by the tail and down the steps he came thumpty-bump, bumpty-thump, right up to the dining room table, threw his old calf hide by him, and sat down.
The old man said, “Old woman, bring Jack now a bowl and a spoon, and bring some more milk and bread here!”
And Jack just crumbled in bowls of milk and bread, and, oh, it was tasting so good, and he was having such a good time. After he had eaten two or three of them, he looked at the old calf, gave him a shake or two right loud, and –
“Ah,” he says, “hush, hush, don’t you be saying that. No, hush up! This milk and bread is just as good as anybody would want. Now, hush your mouth. I don’t want to hear another word out of you!”
The old man said, “Jack, what did he say to you?”
“Oh, no sir,” said Jack, “I can’t tell you – I just can’t. I might hurt the good lady’s feelings. No sir, I can’t tell you, and I don’t want to hear another word out of him. I’ll just have me a little more of that milk and bread, please.”
After he had eaten another bowl of the milk and bread, he reached down and got the old calf hide by the tail and gave him another shake.
“Didn’t I tell you before to shut that mouth of yours? Now, listen, don’t mention that again. If you do I’m going to give you the trashing of your life when I get you upstairs. No! Hush!”
“But, my dear Jack, listen, what did he say to you? Now tell me son.”
“No, sir, I’m tellin’ you, I’m afraid it would make the lady of the house mad.”
“Now, old woman, it’s not going to make you mad, is it?” said the old man.
“Well, now,” Jack said, “if the kind lady won’t get mad, I’ll tell you. He said to me that over there in that corner cupboard there’s cake and pie and chicken, there’s ham, there’s honey, there’s jelly, there’s preserves, there’s everything good you can think of to eat, – right over there in that chest.”
“Old woman, is that the truth?”
“Oh, well, it’s just a little something there I’ve got for me and my poor kinfolks.”
“Well, me and Jack’s your poor kinfolks. Just bring them out here!”
And the old woman set on the table just all the good Jack had ever dreamed of. And he just ate and ate all he could hold. Then the old man said,
“Listen, Jack, what will you take for that?”
“Oh,” said Jack, “I can’t sell you that, mister? Oh, no, I just can’t that’s my fortune.”
“Well, listen, Jack, surely you can sell it. I’ll give you anything you want. Just mention anything and I’ll give it to you.”
“Oh, no, no,” said Jack, “I just couldn’t part with that. I just couldn’t part with it!”
We, now, listen here,” the old man said, “will that talk to me just like it talks to you?”
“Yes, sir,” Jack said, “it’ll talk to you just like it talks to me.”
The old man said then, “Jack, I’ve just got to have it. Now, you name your price, for you’ve got to let me buy that.”
Well, Jack looked all around the room, and he says,
“I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll take that old cedar chest over there for it.”
“Oh, all right,” the man said, “Jack, just help yourself!”
Jack just threw that old cedar chest up on his shoulder and walked out of the door.
To be continued….