He walked down the road a long way in the moonlight. After a while he said, “Phew, now I’ve done it. Here I am getting’ as tired as can be with this old chest on my shoulder. I’ve a mind to throw this thing in the next well I come to – the next one I come to right down there.”
“Oh, but inside the old chest the traveler began to beat, beat, beat with all his might.
“Oh, Jack, Jack, listen here. Don’t throw me in the well, I’m in here.”
“Oh,” Jack said, “bedads, you are in there, aren’t you? Well what’ll you give me if I don’t throw you in the well?”
“Oh,” he said, “now listen, Jack, I’ll give you all the gold you want.”
“All right, bejabbers, I’ll just set you down here by the side of the road, and I’ll ease open that lid a little bit, and you can begin to put me out the gold.”
He opened the lid a little bit, so the man could get his hands out, and he just laid out handfuls of gold and still more gold. Jack filled his pockets, he put gold down his pant legs. He just had every bit he could walk with.
When Jack had got all the gold he could carry, he turned around and started back home. Late the next evening he got in. Will and Tom were sitting there at the supper table just a-fussing and growling about which one should wash the dishes when Jack walked in.
“Well,” they said, “and bedad, and where’s your calf skin?”
“Why,” Jack said, “I sold it. What do you think I done with it?”
“Sold it! What would you get for that calf hide?”
“Well bedads,” Jack said, “I’ll just show you.” And he began laying out handfuls of gold on the table and laid out handfuls after handfuls.
Well, they waited to see a little of it. Will jumped up and says, “Tom, Tom, come on, let’s go quick and kill the fines horse we’ve got. Why, if Jack could get that for one little measily calf hide, what’ll we get for one of our fine horse hides?”
Away they went. They didn’t even wait till morning. They killed the finest horse each one of them had. They couldn’t be bothered to wait for the sun to dry out those hides. They sewed them right up green, stuffed them with chips and straw, took them by the tails, and hauled them off to town.
When they got to town, they walked up and down the streets, hollering, “Horse hides for sale, horse hides for sale!” Just up and down the streets day after day. People came out and looked at them as if they thought they were crazy.
Well, they kept at this for three or four days right in the summer time. Those old horse hides were green and began to smell bad. They soon found that the people just weren’t going to stand for it. They soon came out with sticks and stones and said,
“Looky here, you two crazy men, get out of this town or we’re to show you how to get out,” and they just ran them out of the town.
Will and Tom were so made they didn’t know what to do. They came home just a-puffing. They said, “Jack, you plain lied to us. You didn’t sell that calf hide for any of that gold, and we’re going to throw in the river. Young man, just come along with us.” All they had in their hands was a sheet. They forgot to bring the rope to tie him up with. They fussed and fussed about which one should go back and get the rope. Will said, “Tom, you go get it,” and Tom said, “No, Will you go get it.” Tom said, “Now, Will, you are the oldest, you go on and get that rope, and I’ll stay here with Jack.”
Well, finally they made up their minds, and they told Jack to stay right there by himself while they went back to the house to get the rope to tie up the sheet with. They rolled Jack up in the sheet and said,
“Now, listen, there’d better be something right in this sheet when we get back!” And so the two old scruffs went running back to the house to get the rope.
When they got out of hearing, Jack crawled out to the edge of that big old sheet and lay there with his head sticking out somewhat like a terrapin. He heard someone coming on the other end of the bridge and calling out, “Sheep! Sheep! Here” and he looked and there came a little old gray, fat man driving the prettiest flock of sheep you have ever seen. When he came alongside Jack, he said, “Jack what in the world are you doing there under that sheet?”
“Oh,” he said, “Mister, I’m going to heaven.”
“Oh, please, Jack, let me get in there and go to heaven. I always wanted to go to heaven. Now, listen, Jack, you are young, and you can have every one of these sheep. They are everyone yours if you’ll just get out of there and let me get under that sheet so I can got to heaven.”
Jack said, “Well, my father always did tell me to be kind to old people. So I’ll just let you get right in here.”
He rolled the man up in the sheet and said, “Now, just stay right still and after a while there will be somebody here that will send you right off.”
Jack called to the sheep, “Sheep! Sheep! And backed them off the end of the bridge opposite home. He quickly drove them around a bend in the road before the two brothers got back. He watched around the bend and saw all that was happening. He saw them come and tie the man up hastily heaved him into the river. He saw them turn and go back to the house. He knew they were arguing about something. He waited until they had had good time to get settled back there, and he started the sheep back across the bridge toward home. Finally he drove them up, and when he stopped outside the gate, he called out, “Will, Tom, I wish you all would come out here and help me get these sheep in.”
Will and Tom came running off the porch.
They couldn’t believe their eyes. They said,
“Jack, where in the world did you get those sheep?”
“Why,” he said, “I gathered them out of the river. Where do you think I got them?”
“Oh, Jack, Jack, will you take us and put us in the river?”
“Well, bedad, I reckon I will but you shore got to get your own sheet and rope. I’m not going to do that for you!”
Both ran and got a big sheet and a piece of rope as soon as they could and went running just as hard as they could go to the river bridge. Jack went running along with them, but they fussed all the way down about who ought to get to go first since he was usually with the goats.
“And so Jack tied Tom up good and tight with a piece of big, strong rope, and gave him a great slight right out into the middle of the river. He went down kicking around. Will said, “What’s he doin’, Jack, what’s doin’?”
“I know he’s gathering sheep.”
“Quick! Hurry, Jack before he has time to get them everyone! Put me int here!”
Jack tied him up right quick and gave him a great big sling, and over the bridge right out into the middle of the river he went. And you know when I left there, Jack was just as rich and happy a man as I ever knew.