Children's Rhymes, Children's Games, Children's Songs, Children's Stories Part 30

For three years, notwithstanding the comforts Jack enjoyed, his mind dwelt continually upon the bean-stalk; for the fairy's menaces were ever present to his mind, and prevented him from being happy. It was in vain he endeavoured to amuse himself; he became thoughtful, and would rise at the dawn of day and view the bean-stalk for hours together.

His inclination at length growing too powerful for him, he began to make secret preparations for his journey, and, on the longest day, arose as soon as it was light, ascended the bean-stalk, and reached the top. He arrived at the giant's mansion in the evening, and found his wife standing, as usual, at the door. Jack had disguised himself so completely that she did not appear to have the least recollection of him; however, when he pleaded hunger and poverty in order to gain admittance, he found it very difficult indeed to persuade her. At last he prevailed, and was concealed in the oven.

When the giant returned, he said, as upon the former occasions, "I smell fresh meat!" But Jack felt quite composed, as he had said so before, and had been soon satisfied; however, the giant started up suddenly, and, notwithstanding all his wife could say, he searched all around the room.

Jack was ready to die with fear, wis.h.i.+ng himself at home; the giant approached the oven and put his hand into it; Jack thought his death was certain.

The giant at last gave up the search and ate a hearty supper. When he had finished, he commanded his wife to fetch down his harp. Jack peeped as he had done before, and saw the most beautiful harp that could be imagined; it was placed by the giant on the table, who said, "Play!" and it instantly played of its own accord without being touched. The music was very fine; Jack was delighted, and felt more anxious to get the harp into his possession than either of the former treasures.

The music soon lulled the giant into a sound sleep. This, therefore, was the time to carry off the harp. As the giant appeared to be in a more profound sleep than usual, Jack soon determined, got out of the oven, and seized the harp. The harp had also been stolen by the giant from the fairy.

The giant suddenly awoke and tried to pursue him; but he had drank so much that he could hardly stand. Jack ran as fast as he could; in a little time the giant recovered sufficiently to walk slowly, or rather to reel after him. Had he been sober, he must have overtaken Jack instantly; but, as he then was, Jack contrived to be first at the top of the bean-stalk. The giant called after him in a voice like thunder, and sometimes was very near him.

The moment Jack got down the bean-stalk, he ran for a hatchet. Just at that instant the giant was beginning to descend, but Jack with his hatchet cut the bean-stalk close off at the root, which made the giant fall headlong into the garden, and the fall killed him.

At this instant the fairy appeared; she charged Jack to be dutiful to his mother, and to follow his father's good example, which was the only way to be happy. She then disappeared, after recovering her hen and her harp, which Jack gave to her most thankfully, having acquired great riches and revenged the tragical death of his father.

THE BABES IN THE WOOD.

A great many years ago, there lived in the county of Norfolk a gentleman and his lady. The gentleman was brave, generous, and honourable; and the lady gentle, beautiful, and virtuous; they were beloved by all who knew them, and were blessed with two children, a boy and a girl. The boy was only about three years old, and the girl not quite two, when the gentleman was seized with a dangerous malady, and the lady, in attending her beloved husband, caught the contagion. Notwithstanding every medical a.s.sistance, their disorder daily increased; and, as they expected to be soon s.n.a.t.c.hed away from their little babes, they sent for the gentleman's brother, and gave the darlings into his care.

"Ah! brother," said the dying man, "you see I have but a short time to live; yet neither death nor pain can pierce my heart with half so much anguish as what I feel at the thought of what these dear babes will do without a parent's care. Brother, they will have none but you to be kind to them, to see them clothed and fed, and to teach them to be good."

"Dear, dear brother," said the dying lady, "you must be father, mother, and uncle too, to these dear innocent lambs. First, let William be taught to read; and then he should be told how good his father was. And little Jane--Oh! brother, it wrings my heart to talk of her; think of the gentle usage she will need, and take her fondly on your knee, brother, and she and William too will pay your care with love."

"How it does grieve my heart to see you, my dear relatives, in this mournful condition," replied the uncle. "But be comforted, there may yet be hopes of your well-doing; but should we have the misfortune to lose you, I will do all you can desire for your darling children. In me they shall find father, mother, and uncle; but, dear brother, you have said nothing of your wealth."

"H-e-r-e, h-e-r-e, brother," replied he, "is my will, in which I have provided for my dear babes."

The gentleman and his lady then kissed their children, and a short time after they both died.

The uncle, after shedding a few tears, opened the will, in which he found that to William was bequeathed three hundred pounds a year when he became of age, and to little Jane five hundred pounds in gold on her marriage day. But if the children should chance to die before coming of age, then all their wealth was to be enjoyed by their uncle. The will of the unfortunate gentleman next desired that he and his beloved wife should be buried side by side in the same grave.

The two little innocents were now taken to the house of their uncle, who, for some time, recollecting what their parents said so sorrowfully upon their death-bed, behaved to them with great kindness. But when he had kept them about a twelvemonth, he by degrees forgot to think both how their parents looked when they gave their children to his care, and the promises he made to be their father, mother, and uncle, all in one.

After a little more time had pa.s.sed, the uncle could not help thinking that he wished the little boy and girl would die, for he should then have all their wealth for himself; and when he had begun to think this, he went on till he could not think scarcely of anything else; and at last, says he to himself, "It will not be very difficult for me to kill them, as n.o.body knows anything of the matter, and then their gold is mine."

When the barbarous uncle had once brought his mind to kill the helpless little creatures, he was not long in finding a way to execute his cruel purpose. He hired two st.u.r.dy ruffians, who had already killed many travellers in a dark, thick wood, at some distance, and then robbed them of their money. These two wicked creatures agreed, for a large reward, to do the blackest deed that ever yet was heard of; and the uncle began to prepare everything accordingly.

He told an artful story to his wife, of what good it would be to put the children forward in their learning; how he had a relation in London who would take the greatest care of them. He then said to the innocent children, "Should you not like, my pretty ones, to see the famous town of London, where you, William, can buy a fine wooden horse to ride upon all day long, and a whip to make him gallop, and a fine sword to wear by your side? And you, Jane, shall have pretty dolls and pretty pincus.h.i.+ons, and a nice gilded coach shall be got to take you there."

"Oh yes, I will go, uncle," said William.

"Oh yes, I will go, uncle," said Jane.

And the uncle, with a heart of stone, soon got them ready for their journey.

The unsuspecting little creatures were a few days after put into a fine coach, and with them the two inhuman butchers, who were soon to end their joyful prattle, and turn their smiles to tears. One of them served as coachman, and the other sat between little William and little Jane.

When they had reached the entrance to the dark, thick wood, the two ruffians took them out of the coach, telling them they might now walk a little way and gather flowers; and, while the children were skipping about like lambs, the ruffians turned their backs on them, and began to consult about what they had to do.

"In good truth," says the one who had been sitting all the way between the children, "now I have seen their cherub faces, and heard their pretty speech, I have no heart to do the b.l.o.o.d.y deed; let us fling away the ugly knife, and send the children back to their uncle."

"That I will not," says the other; "what boots their pretty speech to us? And who will pay us for being so chicken-hearted?"

At last the ruffians fell into so great a pa.s.sion about butchering the innocent little creatures, that he who wished to spare their lives suddenly opened the great knife he had brought to kill them, and stabbed the other to the heart, so that he fell down dead.

The one who had killed him was now greatly at a loss what to do with the children, for he wanted to get away as fast as he could, for fear of being found in the wood. He was not, however, long in determining that he must leave them in the wood, to the chance of some traveller pa.s.sing by. "Look ye, my pretty ones," said he, "you must each take hold and come along with me." The poor children each took a hand and went on, the tears bursting from their eyes, and their little limbs trembling with fear.

Thus did he lead them about two miles further on in the wood, and told them to wait there till he came back with some cakes.

William took his sister Jane by the hand, and they wandered fearfully up and down the wood. "Will the strange man come with some cakes, Billy?"

says Jane.

"Presently, dear Jane," says William.

And soon again, "I wish I had some cakes, Billy," said she.

And it would have melted a heart of stone to see how sorrowfully they looked.

After waiting very long, they tried to satisfy their hunger with blackberries, but they soon devoured all that were within their reach; and night coming on, William, who had tried all he could to comfort his little sister, now wanted comfort himself; so when Jane said once more, "How hungry I am, Billy, I b-e-l-i-e-v-e I cannot help crying," William burst out crying too; and down they lay upon the cold earth, and putting their arms round each other's neck, there they starved, and there they died.

Thus were these pretty little innocents murdered; and as no one knew of their death, so no one sought to give them burial.

The wicked uncle, supposing they had been killed as he desired, told all who asked after them an artful tale of their having died in London of the smallpox, and accordingly took possession openly of their fortune.

But all this did him very little service, for soon after his wife died; and being very unhappy, and always thinking too that he saw the bleeding innocents before his eyes, he neglected all his business; so that, instead of growing richer, he every day grew poorer. His two sons, also, who had embarked for a foreign land, were both drowned at sea, and he became completely miserable.

When things had gone on in this manner for years, the ruffian who took pity on the children committed another robbery in the wood, and, being pursued by some men, he was laid hold of and brought to prison, and soon after was tried at the a.s.sizes, and found guilty--so that he was condemned to be hanged for the crime.

As soon as he found what his unhappy end must be, he sent for the keeper of the prison, and confessed to him all the crimes he had been guilty of in his whole life, and thus declared the story of the pretty innocents, telling him at the same time in what part of the wood he had left them to starve.

The news of the discovery he had made soon reached the uncle's ears, who, being already broken-hearted by misfortunes that had befallen him, and unable to bear the load of public shame that could not but await him, lay down upon his bed and died that very day.

No sooner were the tidings of the fate of the two children made public than proper persons were sent to search the wood; when, after many fruitless endeavours, the pretty babes were at length found outstretched in each other's arms, with William's arm round the neck of Jane, his face turned close to her's, and his frock pulled over her body. They were covered all over with leaves, which in all that time never withered; and on a bush near this cold grave a Robin-Redbreast watched and chirped--so that many gentle hearts still think that pretty bird did bring the leaves which made their grave.

JACK THE GIANT KILLER.

In the reign of King Arthur, near the Land's End of England, in the County of Cornwall, there lived a wealthy farmer, who had one only son, commonly known by the name of Jack. He was brisk, and of a lively ready wit; so that whatever he could not perform by strength, he completed by wit and policy. Never was any person heard of that could worst him; nay, the learned he baffled by his cunning and ready inventions.

For instance, when he was no more than seven years of age, his father sent him into the field to look after his oxen; a country vicar, by chance one day coming across the field, called Jack, and asked him several questions--in particular, How many commandments were there? Jack told him there were nine.