went the guns, and the last one must have broken the leg of the
four-post bed, for there at the window was the gay young daughter in her
nightcap, gazing with astonishment at the lake four miles round, with
the fleet of vessels floating on it!
And so did Jack! He had never seen such a sight in his life, and he was
quite sorry when the three little red men disturbed him by flying in at
the window and scrambling into the golden snuff-box.
"Give us a little more time when you want us next, Master," they said
sulkily. Then they shut down the lid, and Jack could hear them yawning
inside as they settled down to sleep.
As you may imagine, the master of the house was fair astonished, while
as for the gay young daughter, she declared at once that she would never
marry any one else but the young man who could do such wonderful things;
the truth being that she and Jack had fallen in love with each other at
first sight.
But her father was cautious. "It is true, my dear," says he, "that the
young fellow seems a bully boy; but for aught we know it may be chance,
not skill, and he may have a broken feather in his wing. So we must try
him again."
Then he said to Jack, "My daughter must have a fine house to live in.
Therefore by to-morrow morning at eight o'clock there must be a
magnificent castle standing on twelve golden pillars in the middle of
the lake, and there must be a church beside it. And all things must be
ready for the bride, and at eight o'clock precisely a peal of bells from
the church must ring out for the wedding. If not you will have to
forfeit your life."
This time Jack intended to give the three little red men more time for
their task; but what with having enjoyed himself so much all day, and
having eaten so much good food, he overslept himself, so that the big
clock on the tower was whirring before it struck eight when he woke,
leapt out of bed, and rushed to the golden snuff-box. But he had
forgotten where he had put it, and so the clock had _really_ begun to
strike before he found it under his pillow, opened it, and gabbled out
his orders. And then you never saw how the three little red men tumbled
over each other and yawned and stretched and made haste all at one time,
so that Jack thought his life would surely be forfeit. But just as the
clock struck its last chime, out rang a peal of merry bells, and there
was the Castle standing on twelve golden pillars and a church beside it
in the middle of the lake. And the Castle was all decorated for the
wedding, and there were crowds and crowds of servants and retainers, all
dressed in their Sunday best.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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