The Orange Fairy Book (19 page)

(Contes Berberes, par Rene Basset.)

Long, long ago, there lived an old man and his wife who had three sons;
the eldest was called Martin, the second Michael, while the third was
named Jack.

One evening they were all seated round the table, eating their supper
of bread and milk.

'Martin,' said the old man suddenly, 'I feel that I cannot live much
longer. You, as the eldest, will inherit this hut; but, if you value
my blessing, be good to your mother and brothers.'

'Certainly, father; how can you suppose I should do them wrong?'
replied Martin indignantly, helping himself to all the best bits in the
dish as he spoke. The old man saw nothing, but Michael looked on in
surprise, and Jack was so astonished that he quite forgot to eat his
own supper.

A little while after, the father fell ill, and sent for his sons, who
were out hunting, to bid him farewell. After giving good advice to the
two eldest, he turned to Jack.

'My boy,' he said, 'you have not got quite as much sense as other
people, but if Heaven has deprived you of some of your wits, it was
given you a kind heart. Always listen to what it says, and take heed
to the words of your mother and brothers, as well as you are able!' So
saying the old man sank back on his pillows and died.

The cries of grief uttered by Martin and Michael sounded through the
house, but Jack remained by the bedside of his father, still and
silent, as if he were dead also. At length he got up, and going into
the garden, hid himself in some trees, and wept like a child, while his
two brothers made ready for the funeral.

No sooner was the old man buried than Martin and Michael agreed that
they would go into the world together to seek their fortunes, while
Jack stayed at home with their mother. Jack would have liked nothing
better than to sit and dream by the fire, but the mother, who was very
old herself, declared that there was no work for him to do, and that he
must seek it with his brothers.

So, one fine morning, all three set out; Martin and Michael carried two
great bags full of food, but Jack carried nothing. This made his
brothers very angry, for the day was hot and the bags were heavy, and
about noon they sat down under a tree and began to eat. Jack was as
hungry as they were, but he knew that it was no use asking for
anything; and he threw himself under another tree, and wept bitterly.

'Another time perhaps you won't be so lazy, and will bring food for
yourself,' said Martin, but to his surprise Jack answered:

'You are a nice pair! You talk of seeking your fortunes so as not to
be a burden on our mother, and you begin by carrying off all the food
she has in the house!'

This reply was so unexpected that for some moments neither of the
brothers made any answer. Then they offered their brother some of
their food, and when he had finished eating they went their way once
more.

Towards evening they reached a small hut, and knocking at the door,
asked if they might spend the night there. The man, who was a
wood-cutter, invited them him, and begged them to sit down to supper.
Martin thanked him, but being very proud, explained that it was only
shelter they wanted, as they had plenty of food with them; and he and
Michael at once opened their bags and began to eat, while Jack hid
himself in a corner. The wife, on seeing this, took pity on him, and
called him to come and share their supper, which he gladly did, and
very good he found it. At this, Martin regretted deeply that he had
been so foolish as to refuse, for his bits of bread and cheese seemed
very hard when he smelt the savoury soup his brother was enjoying.

'He shan't have such a chance again,' thought he; and the next morning
he insisted on plunging into a thick forest where they were likely to
meet nobody.

For a long time they wandered hither and thither, for they had no path
to guide them; but at last they came upon a wide clearing, in the midst
of which stood a castle. Jack shouted with delight, but Martin, who
was in a bad temper, said sharply:

'We must have taken a wrong turning! Let us go back.'

'Idiot!' replied Michael, who was hungry too, and, like many people
when they are hungry, very cross also. 'We set out to travel through
the world, and what does it matter if we go to the right or to the
left?' And, without another word, took the path to the castle, closely
followed by Jack, and after a moment by Martin likewise.

The door of the castle stood open, and they entered a great hall, and
looked about them. Not a creature was to be seen, and suddenly
Martin—he did not know why—felt a little frightened. He would have
left the castle at once, but stopped when Jack boldly walked up to a
door in the wall and opened it. He could not for very shame be outdone
by his younger brother, and passed behind him into another splendid
hall, which was filled from floor to ceiling with great pieces of
copper money.

The sight quite dazzled Martin and Michael, who emptied all the
provisions that remained out of their bags, and heaped them up instead
with handfuls of copper.

Scarcely had they done this when Jack threw open another door, and this
time it led to a hall filled with silver. In an instant his brothers
had turned their bags upside down, so that the copper money tumbled out
on to the floor, and were shovelling in handfuls of the silver instead.
They had hardly finished, when Jack opened yet a third door, and all
three fell back in amazement, for this room as a mass of gold, so
bright that their eyes grew sore as they looked at it. However, they
soon recovered from their surprise, and quickly emptied their bags of
silver, and filled them with gold instead. When they would hold no
more, Martin said:

'We had better hurry off now lest somebody else should come, and we
might not know what to do'; and, followed by Michael, he hastily left
the castle. Jack lingered behind for a few minutes to put pieces of
gold, silver, and copper into his pocket, and to eat the food that his
brothers had thrown down in the first room. Then he went after them,
and found them lying down to rest in the midst of a forest. It was
near sunset, and Martin began to feel hungry, so, when Jack arrived, he
bade him return to the castle and bring the bread and cheese that they
had left there.

'It is hardly worth doing that,' answered Jack; 'for I picked up the
pieces and ate them myself.'

At this reply both brothers were beside themselves with anger, and fell
upon the boy, beating him, and calling him names, till they were quite
tired.

'Go where you like,' cried Martin with a final kick; 'but never come
near us again.' And poor Jack ran weeping into the woods.

The next morning his brothers went home, and bought a beautiful house,
where they lived with their mother like great lords.

Jack remained for some hours in hiding, thankful to be safe from his
tormentors; but when no one came to trouble him, and his back did not
ache so much, he began to think what he had better do. At length he
made up his mind to go to the caste and take away as much money with
him as would enable him to live in comfort for the rest of his life.
This being decided, he sprang up, and set out along the path which led
to the castle. As before, the door stood open, and he went on till he
had reached the hall of gold, and there he took off his jacket and tied
the sleeves together so that it might make a kind of bag. He then
began to pour in the gold by handfuls, when, all at once, a noise like
thunder shook the castle. This was followed by a voice, hoarse as that
of a bull, which cried:

'I smell the smell of a man.' And two giants entered.

'So, little worm! it is you who steal our treasures!' exclaimed the
biggest. 'Well, we have got you now, and we will cook you for supper!'
But here the other giant drew him aside, and for a moment or two they
whispered together. At length the first giant spoke:

'To please my friend I will spare your life on condition that, for the
future, you shall guard our treasures. If you are hungry take this
little table and rap on it, saying, as you do so: "The dinner of an
emperor!" and you will get as much food as you want.'

With a light heart Jack promised all that was asked of him, and for
some days enjoyed himself mightily. He had everything he could wish
for, and did nothing from morning till night; but by-and-by he began to
get very tired of it all.

'Let the giants guard their treasures themselves,' he said to himself
at last; 'I am going away. But I will leave all the gold and silver
behind me, and will take nought but you, my good little table.'

So, tucking the table under his arm, he started off for the forest, but
he did not linger there long, and soon found himself in the fields on
the other side. There he saw an old man, who begged Jack to give him
something to eat.

'You could not have asked a better person,' answered Jack cheerfully.
And signing to him to sit down with him under a tree, he set the table
in front of them, and struck it three times, crying:

'The dinner of an emperor!' He had hardly uttered the words when fish
and meat of all kinds appeared on it!

'That is a clever trick of yours,' said the old man, when he had eaten
as much as he wanted. 'Give it to me in exchange for a treasure I have
which is still better. Do you see this cornet? Well, you have only to
tell it that you wish for an army, and you will have as many soldiers
as you require.'

Now, since he had been left to himself, Jack had grown ambitious, so,
after a moment's hesitation, he took the cornet and gave the table in
exchange. The old man bade him farewell, and set off down one path,
while Jack chose another, and for a long time he was quite pleased with
his new possession. Then, as he felt hungry, he wished for his table
back again, as no house was in sight, and he wanted some supper badly.
All at once he remembered his cornet, and a wicked thought entered his
mind.

'Two hundred hussars, forward!' cried he. And the neighing of horses
and the clanking of swords were heard close at hand. The officer who
rode at their head approached Jack, and politely inquired what he
wished them to do.

'A mile or two along that road,' answered Jack, 'you will find an old
man carrying a table. Take the table from him and bring it to me.'

The officer saluted and went back to his men, who started at a gallop
to do Jack's bidding.

In ten minutes they had returned, bearing the table with them.

'That is all, thank you,' said Jack; and the soldiers disappeared
inside the cornet.

Oh, what a good supper Jack had that night, quite forgetting that he
owed it to a mean trick. The next day he breakfasted early, and then
walked on towards the nearest town. On the way thither he met another
old man, who begged for something to eat.

'Certainly, you shall have something to eat,' replied Jack. And,
placing the table on the ground he cried:

'The dinner of an emperor!' when all sorts of food dishes appeared. At
first the old man ate quite greedily, and said nothing; but, after his
hunger was satisfied, he turned to Jack and said:

'That is a very clever trick of yours. Give the table to me and you
shall have something still better.'

'I don't believe that there is anything better,' answered Jack.

'Yes, there is. Here is my bag; it will give you as many castles as
you can possibly want.'

Jack thought for a moment; then he replied: 'Very well, I will exchange
with you.' And passing the table to the old man, he hung the bag over
his arm.

Five minutes later he summoned five hundred lancers out of the cornet
and bade them go after the old man and fetch back the table.

Now that by his cunning he had obtained possession of the three magic
objects, he resolved to return to his native place. Smearing his face
with dirt, and tearing his clothes so as to look like a beggar, he
stopped the passers by and, on pretence of seeking money or food, he
questioned them about the village gossip. In this manner he learned
that his brothers had become great men, much respected in all the
country round. When he heard that, he lost no time in going to the
door of their fine house and imploring them to give him food and
shelter; but the only thing he got was hard words, and a command to beg
elsewhere. At length, however, at their mother's entreaty, he was told
that he might pass the night in the stable. Here he waited until
everybody in the house was sound asleep, when he drew his bag from
under his cloak, and desired that a castle might appear in that place;
and the cornet gave him soldiers to guard the castle, while the table
furnished him with a good supper. In the morning, he caused it all to
vanish, and when his brothers entered the stable they found him lying
on the straw.

Jack remained here for many days, doing nothing, and—as far as anybody
knew—eating nothing. This conduct puzzled his brothers greatly, and
they put such constant questions to him, that at length he told them
the secret of the table, and even gave a dinner to them, which far
outdid any they had ever seen or heard of. But though they had
solemnly promised to reveal nothing, somehow or other the tale leaked
out, and before long reached the ears of the king himself. That very
evening his chamberlain arrived at Jack's dwelling, with a request from
the king that he might borrow the table for three days.

'Very well,' answered Jack, 'you can take it back with you. But tell
his majesty that if he does not return it at the end of the three days
I will make war upon him.'

So the chamberlain carried away the table and took it straight to the
king, telling him at the same time of Jack's threat, at which they both
laughed till their sides ached.