Cole's Funny Picture Book No. 1
declaring he would eat him for breakfast. He had scarcely said this
when he fell into the pit. "Oh! Mr. Giant," says Jack, "where are you
now? You shall have this for your breakfast." So saying, he struck
him on the head so terrible blow with his pickaxe that the Giant fell
dead to the bottom.
Just at this moment, the Giant's brother ran out roaring vengeance
against Jack; but he jumped into his boat and pulled to the opposite
shore, with the Giant after him, who caught poor Jack, just as he was
landing, tied him down in his boat, and went in search of his
provisions. During his absence, Jack contrived to cut a large hole in
the bottom of the boat, and placed therein a piece of canvas. After
having stolen some oxen, the Giant returned and pushed off the boat,
when, having got fairly out to sea, Jack pulled the canvas from the
hole, which caused the boat to fill and quickly capsize. The Giant
roared and bellowed as he struggled in the water, but was very soon
exhausted and drowned, while Jack dexterously swam ashore.
One day after this, Jack was sitting by a well fast asleep. A Giant
named Blundebore, coming for water, at once saw and caught hold of
him, and carried him to his castle. Jack was much frightened at
seeing the heaps of bodies and bones strewed about. The Giant then
confined him in an upper room over the entrance, and went for another
Giant to breakfast off poor Jack. On viewing the room, he saw some
strong ropes, and making a noose at one end, he put the other through
a pulley which chanced to be over the window, and when the Giants
were unfastening the gate he threw the noose over both their heads,
and pulling it immediately, he contrived to choke them both. Then
releasing three ladies who were confined in the castle, he departed
well pleased.
About five or six months after, Jack was journeying through Wales,
when, losing his way, he could find no place of entertainment, and
was about giving up all hopes of obtaining shelter during the night
when he came to a gate, and, on knocking, to his utter astonishment
it was opened by a Giant, who did not seem so fierce as the others.
Jack told him his distress, when the Giant invited him in, and, after
giving him a hearty supper, showed him to bed. Jack had scarcely got
into bed when he heard the Giant muttering to himself:
"Though you lodge with me this night,
You shall not see the morning light;
My club shall dash your brains out quite."
"Oh, Mr. Giant, is that your game?" said Jack to himself; "then I
shall try and be even with you." So he jumped out of bed and put a
large lump of wood there instead. In the middle of the night the
Giant went into the room, and thinking it was Jack in the bed, he
belaboured the wood most unmercifully; he then left the room,
laughing to think how he had settled poor Jack. The following morning
Jack went boldly into the Giant's room to thank him for the night's
lodging. The Giant was startled at his appearance, and asked him how
he slept, or if anything had disturbed him in the night? "Oh, no,"
says Jack, "nothing worth speaking about: I believe that a rat gave
me a few slaps with his tail, but, being rather sleepy, I took no
notice of it." The Giant wondered how Jack survived the terrific
blows of his club, yet did not answer a word, but went and brought in
two monstrous bowls of hasty pudding, placed one before Jack, and
began eating the other himself. Determined to be revenged on the
Giant somehow, Jack unbuttoned his leather provision bag inside his
coat, and slyly filling it with hasty pudding, said, "I'll do what
you can't." So saying, he took up a large knife, and ripping up the
bag, let out the hasty pudding. The Giant, determined not to be
outdone, seized hold of the knife, and saying, "I can do that,"
instantly ripped up his belly, and fell down dead on the spot.
After this Jack fought and conquered many giants, married the king's
daughter and lived happily.
Jack and the Beanstalk
At some distance from London, in a small village, lived a widow and
her son, whose name was Jack. He was a bold, daring fellow, ready
for any adventure which promised fun or amusement. Jack's mother had
a cow, of which she was very fond, and which, up to this time, had
been their chief support. But as she had for some time past been
growing poorer every year, she felt that now she must part with the
cow. So she told Jack to take the cow to be sold, and he was to be
sure to get a good round sum for her. On the road to market Jack met
a butcher, who was carrying in his hat some things which Jack thought
to be very pretty. The butcher saw how eagerly Jack eyed his beans,
and said, "If you want to sell your cow, my fine fellow, I will give
you this whole hatful of beans in exchange for her."
Jack was delighted; he seized the hat, and ran back home. Jack's
mother was surprised to see him back so soon, and at once asked him
for the money. But when Jack said he had sold the cow for a hatful of
beans, she was so angry that she opened the window and threw them all
out into the garden. When Jack rose up next morning he found that one
of the beans had taken root, and had grown up, up, up, until its top
was quite lost in the clouds. Jack resolved instantly to mount the
Beanstalk. So up, up, up, he went till he had reached the very top.
Looking round he saw at a distance a large house. Tired and weary, he
crawled towards it and knocked on the door. The door was opened by a
timid looking woman who started when she saw him, and besought him to
run away as her husband was a cruel Giant who would eat him up if he
found him there. But Jack begged so earnestly to be admitted that the
woman, who was very kind-hearted, had pity on him, and so she brought
him into the kitchen, and set before him on a table some bread, meat,
and ale. Jack ate and drank, and soon felt quite refreshed. Presently
the woman started and said, "My husband! quick, quick! he comes--he
comes!" and opened the door to the oven and bid Jack jump in. The
Giant was in a dreadful passion when he came in, and almost killed
his wife by a blow which he aimed at her. He then began to sniff and
smell--at last he roared out:
"Fee, fa, fi, fo, fum,
I smell the blood of an Englishman!
Be he alive, or be he dead,
I'll grind his bones to make me bread!"
His wife gave him an evasive answer, and proceeded to lay before him
his supper. When the Giant could swallow no more, he called out to
his wife to bring him his hen, which, after being brought, whenever
the Giant said "Lay," the hen laid a golden egg. The Giant soon fell
asleep, and Jack crept out softly and seized the hen, and made off
without disturbing the Giant. Away ran Jack till he came to the
Beanstalk; he was much sooner at the bottom of it now than at the top
in the morning; and running to his mother he told all his adventure.
The hen laid as many golden eggs as Jack liked, and his mother before
long had another cow and everything which she desired. A second time
Jack climbed the Beanstalk, when he ran away with the Giant's bag of
money. A third time Jack climbed the Beanstalk, and again gained
admission to the Giant's house. He saw the Giant's wife, and asked
her for a night's lodging. She at first said she could not let him
into the house, but Jack begged so hard that at last she consented,
and gave him some supper and put him to sleep in the copper boiler
near the kitchen fireplace, where she thought the Giant would not
find him.
When the Giant came in, his good nose served him in a moment: for he
cried out "I smell fresh meat." Jack laughed at this, but it was no
laughing matter; for the Giant looked all around the room, and even
put his finger on the lid of the copper, till it seemed as if a stone
of a hundredweight had fallen upon the lid. Just then his wife came
in with a whole roasted bullock smoking hot, which the Giant sat down
and ate for his supper, and then went down into the cellar, and drank
about six gallons of Jamaica rum. The Giant now sat down and went to
sleep, and Jack tried to run away with his golden harp, an instrument
which, when the Giant said "play," played the most beautiful tunes.
Now the harp was a fairy, and as soon as he touched it, it called out
"Master! Master!" so loud that the Giant awoke, but he was some time
before he could understand what was the matter. He tried to run after
Jack, but Jack got to the top of the beanstalk first. When he had
descended a little way he looked up, and how great was his horror to
see the huge hand of the Giant stretched down to seize him by the
hair of the head! He slid and scrambled down the Beanstalk, hardly
knowing how, and seeing the Giant just putting his feet over the top,
he called out, "Quick, mother! A hatchet, a hatchet!" Jack seized it
and chopped away at the beanstalk, when down it fell, bringing along
with it the Giant. Jack instantly cut off his head. After this Jack
and his mother lived very happily, and Jack was a great comfort to
her in her old age.
[Page 33--Boy Land]
Hop O' My Thumb
Once upon a time there was a woodman and his wife who had so many
children that they did not know how to find food for them. So one
night, when they were all in bed, the father told his wife that he
thought they had better take them into the forest and lose them
there. The youngest child, who was so very small that he was called
Hop o' my Thumb, overheard his father, and as he was a very clever
boy he made up his mind to find his way home again. So he went down
to the brook very early the next morning, and filled his pocket with
large smooth pebbles as white as snow. Bye-and-bye the woodman and
his wife told the children that they might go with them into the wood
to have a good game of play. They were all glad except Hop o' my
Thumb who knew what his father intended. So they set out; the woodman
and his wife first, then the boys, and last Hop o' my Thumb, who
sprinkled pebbles all the way they went.
They spent a merry day; but bye-and-bye the parents stole away, and
left the children all by themselves. They were very much frightened
when they missed their father and mother, and called loudly for them;
but when Hop o' my Thumb told them what he had heard, and how they
could find their way home by following the track of the pebbles,
which marked the way they had come, they set out, and reached home
safely, and their father and mother pretended to be very glad to see
them back.
But soon after they again resolved to lose their children, if
possible, in the forest. This time all the boys feared that they
should be left behind, and the eldest brother said he would take some
peas to sprinkle, to mark the pathway that led home. By-and-bye the
cruel parents stole away, and left the little ones in the dark wood.
At first they did not care, for they thought that they could easily
find their way home; but, alas! when they looked for the line of peas
which they had sprinkled, they found they were all gone--the
wood-pigeons had eaten them up, and the children were lost in the
wood. Holding each-others' hands and crying sadly they walked on to
seek a place to sleep in. By-and-bye they came to a giant's castle,
where they were taken in, and told that they might sleep in the
nursery with the seven baby daughters of the giant, who were lying
all in a row in one bed, with gold crowns on their heads. Hop o' my
Thumb thought it was strange that the giant should be so kind, as he
had been told that the ogres eat children. So in the night he got up
softly and took off the little giantesses' crowns and put them on his
brothers' heads and his own, and lay down again. It was lucky for him
that he did so, for in the night the giant came up in the dark to