They were nine days on their journey, in which they did try to keep the
Sunday holy, when one of the little men turned to be the priest, the
other the clerk, and third presided at the organ, and the women were
the singers, for they had a grand chapel in the castle already. Very
remarkable, there was a discord made in the music, and one of the little
men ran up one of the organ-pipes to see where the bad sound came
from, when he found out it only happened to be that the two women were
laughing at the little red man stretching his little legs full length
on the bass pipes, also his two arms the same time, with his little red
night-cap, which he never forgot to wear, and what they never witnessed
before, could not help calling forth some good merriment while on the
face of the deep. And poor thing! through them not going on with what
they begun with, they very near came to danger, as the castle was once
very near sinking in the middle of the sea.
At length, after a merry journey, they come again to Jack and the King.
The King was quite struck with the sight of the castle; and going up the
golden stairs, went to see the inside.
The King was very much pleased with the castle, but poor Jack's time of
a twelvemonths and a day was drawing to a close; and he, wishing to
go home to his young wife, gives orders to the three little men to
get ready by the next morning at eight o'clock to be off to the next
brother, and to stop there for one night; also to proceed from there
to the last or the youngest brother, the master of all the mice in the
world, in such place where the castle shall be left under his care until
it's sent for. Jack takes a farewell of the King, and thanks him very
much for his hospitality.
Away went Jack and his castle again, and stopped one night in that
place; and away they went again to the third place, and there left the
castle under his care. As Jack had to leave the castle behind, he had to
take to his own horse, which he left there when he first started.
Now poor Jack leaves his castle behind and faces towards home; and
after having so much merriment with the three brothers every night, Jack
became sleepy on horseback, and would have lost the road if it was not
for the little men a-guiding him. At last he arrived weary and tired,
and they did not seem to receive him with any kindness whatever,
because he had not found the stolen castle; and to make it worse, he was
disappointed in not seeing his young and beautiful wife to come and meet
him, through being hindered by her parents. But that did not stop long.
Jack put full power on and despatched the little men off to bring the
castle from there, and they soon got there.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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