Keep Cool [Europa's Fairy Book]
There was once a man and he had three
sons, and when he died they all had to go out to seek a living. So the eldest
went out first, leaving his two brothers at home, and went to a neighbouring
farmer to try and get work from him.
"Well, well, my man," said the
farmer, "I can give you work but on only one condition."
"What is that?"
"I cannot abear any high talk on my
farm. You must keep cool and not lose your temper."
"Oh, never bother about that,"
said the youngster, "I never lose my temper, or scarcely ever."
"Ah, but if you do," said the
farmer, "I make it a condition that I shall tear a strip of your skin from
your nape to your waist; that will make a pretty ribbon to tie around the
throat of my dog there."
"That doesn't suit me," was the
reply. "So fare thee well, master, I must try another place."
"Keep cool, keep cool," said
the farmer. "I am a just man; what's good for the man I consider good for
the master. So if I should lose my temper I am quite
willing that you should take the ribbon of flesh from my back."
"Oh, if that's so," said the
youngster, "I'll agree to stay. But we must have it in black and
white."
So they sent for the notary and wrote it
all down that if either lost his temper he should also lose a strip of skin
from his back. But the eldest son had not been in the house a week when the
master gave him so hard a task that he lost his temper and had to give up a
strip of skin from his back. So he went home and told his brothers about it.
Well, the brothers were savage at hearing
what he had suffered. And the second son went to the same man in the hope of
getting revenge for his brother. But the same thing happened to him, and he had
to come with a strip of skin from his back like his elder brother.
Now the third son, whose name was Jack,
made up his mind he wouldn't be done like the other two. And he went to the man
and he engaged himself to serve him for the same wage but on the same
conditions that his two brothers had done.
The very first morning that Jack had to
go out to work his master gave him a piece of dry bread and told him to mind
the sheep.
"Is this all I'm to get to
eat?" said Jack.
"Why, yes," said the master;
"there'll be supper when you come home."
Jack was going to complain when his
master called out to him, "Keep cool, Jack, keep cool," and pointed
to his back.
So Jack swallowed his rage and went out
into the field. But on his way he met a man, to whom he sold one of the sheep
for five shillings, and went and bought enough to eat and drink for a whole
week.
When he got home that evening his master
began to count the sheep, and when he found one was missing, he said to Jack:
"You've let one of the sheep run
away."
"No, no, sir," said Jack,
"I sold him to a man passing along."
"You shouldn't have done that
without my telling you; but where's the money?"
"Oh, with the money," said
Jack, "I went and bought me some eats." And he showed him what he had
bought.
The master was going to fly in a rage,
but Jack said to him: "Keep cool, master, keep cool," and pointed to
his back. So he remembered and said nothing more.
The next day Jack was ordered to take the
pigs to market to sell them, and after he had cut off all their tails he sold
them and pocketed the money; and then he went to a marsh near the farm and
planted all the tails in the marsh.
When he got home the master asked him if
he had sold the pigs.
He said: "No, they all rushed into
the marsh at the foot of the valley."
"I don't believe you," said the
master, and was going to get into a rage when Jack said to him:
"Keep cool, master, keep cool."
So he went with Jack to the marsh, and
when he saw the pigs' tails all peeping out the marsh he went and plucked one
of them out of the ground, and Jack said:
"There, you've torn the tail from
the poor pig's back."
Then the master was going to get into a
rage again but Jack said: "Keep cool, master, keep cool," and pointed
to his back.
Next day the master didn't like sending
Jack out with the animals or else he might sell them to get some dinner. So he
said to him:
"Jack, I want you today to clean the
horses and the stable within and without."
"Very well, master," said Jack,
and went to the stable; and he whitewashed it within and he whitewashed it
without. Then he went to the horses and killed them and took out their insides
and cleaned them within; and then he washed their skins.
In the evening the master came to see how
Jack had got on with his work and was delighted to find the stable looking so
clean.
"But where are the horses?" he
said; and Jack pointed to them lying dead on their backs.
"Why, what have you done?" said
the master.
"You told me to clean them within
and without and how could I clean them within without killing them?" said
Jack.
Then the master was just going to fly
into a rage, when Jack said to him: "Keep cool, master, keep cool,"
and pointed to his back.
So next day the master had sent Jack out
with the sheep, but so that he should not sell any of them to get money for his
lunch he sent his wife with them telling her to watch Jack from behind a bush,
and if he tried to sell any of the sheep to stop him. But Jack saw her and
didn't say anything or try and sell any of the sheep.
But next day, when he went out with them,
he took with him his gun, and when the farmer's wife got behind the bush to
watch him, he called out: "Ah, wolf, I see you," and fired his gun at
her and hit her in the leg. She screamed out, and the master came running up
and said:
"What's this, Jack, what's
this?"
Then Jack said: "Why, master, I
thought that was a wolf and I shot my gun at it and it turned out to be the
missus."
"How dare you, you scoundrel, shoot
my wife!" cried out the master.
"Don't be in a rage, master, don't
be in a rage," said Jack.
"Anybody would be in a rage if his
wife was shot," said the master.
"Well, then," said Jack,
"I'll have that strip off your back." And as there were witnesses
present the master had to let Jack take a strip of skin from his back.
And with that he went home to his
brothers.
0 Comments:
Post a Comment