Jack and the Golden Snuffbox
In the good old days—and it truly was a good time, though it was neither my time nor yours, nor anyone else's—there lived in a dense forest an old man and an old woman, and they had one and only son named Jack. Jack had never seen anyone besides his parents, but from books he knew that there were other people in the world. He had many books, and he read them every day. And whenever Jack read about beautiful princesses, he always longed to see at least one of them! And so, one fine day, just after his father had gone to chop wood, he suddenly told his mother that he intended to leave his home."Well, what do I see here?" said Jack. "Nothing but trees and more trees. I want to live in foreign lands—to see the world and be seen by others. I can't just sit around with my father and mother forever!"
Jack's father was gone for a long time, and the poor old woman herself began to advise her son:
"So be it, my poor boy. If you've made up your mind to go, then it's better for you to leave. May the Lord bless you..." The old woman wished her son well as she spoke. "But wait, hold on! Tell me, what kind of pie should I bake for your journey—a small one with my blessing or a big one with my curse?"
"Well, of course, a small one," answered Jack. And his mother baked him a small pie. Then she went up to the attic and, as long as Jack was still in sight, sent her blessings after him.
Soon Jack met his father, and the old man asked him:
"Where are you going, my poor boy?"
The son told his father the same thing he had told his mother.
"Ah," said the father, "it grieves me that you are leaving us. But since you've decided to go, it's better for you to leave."
However, no sooner had Jack walked away than his father called him back. The old man pulled a golden snuffbox from his pocket and said to Jack:
"Here, take this little box and keep it in your pocket. But be careful not to open it unless you are on the brink of death!"
And so Jack went on his way, walking and walking until he was exhausted. He was also hungry—he had eaten the pie much earlier. By that time, night had fallen, and he could barely see the road. Suddenly, a light appeared in the distance. Jack walked toward it and came to a house. He found the back door and knocked. A maid came out and asked what he wanted. Jack replied that it was night, and he had nowhere to sleep. The maid invited him into the house, to the hearth, and gave him all sorts of food: roasted meat, bread, and beer.
While Jack sat by the fire and ate, a young lady, the master's daughter, came into the room to see him. She immediately fell in love with him, and he with her. The young lady ran to her father, told him about Jack, and added that a handsome young man was sitting in their kitchen. The father immediately came out to Jack and began asking him what he could do and all sorts of things. And Jack, the foolish lad, took it upon himself to say:
"I can do everything!"
He meant all sorts of trivial household chores.
"Very well," said the girl's father. "If you can do everything, then by eight o'clock tomorrow morning, let a huge lake spread out in front of my house, and let the largest warships in the world sail across it. One ship must fire a royal salute, and with its last shot, it must knock the leg off the bed where my youngest daughter is sleeping. And if you don't do all this, you will lose your life!"
"Alright," replied Jack, and he went to bed. He slept almost until eight, so there was no time to think about what to do next. And suddenly he remembered the golden snuffbox his father had given him. "Well, well," thought Jack, "I've never been this close to death before!"
He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out his father's snuffbox. As soon as he opened it, three little men in red caps jumped out and asked:
"What do you command?"
"This!" replied Jack. "Make it so that a huge lake spreads out in front of this house right now, and let the largest warships in the world sail across it. Let one ship fire a royal salute, and with its last shot, knock the leg off the bed where the young lady—the master's daughter—is sleeping."
"It will be done!" said the little men.
And as soon as Jack gave the order, eight o'clock struck, and—bang! bang!—a volley rang out from the largest warship. Jack jumped out of bed, rushed to the window, and saw such wonders as he had never seen before—and indeed, he couldn't have seen them, for he had spent his entire life in the forest with his father and mother.
Jack got dressed, said his prayers, and went out, grinning—he was very pleased that everything had turned out so well. The gentleman, the girl's father, approached him and said:
"Well, young man, I must say, you are indeed a clever lad! Now let's go have breakfast!" And he added: "But you'll have to complete two more tasks. Once you do, then you can marry my daughter."
At breakfast, Jack couldn't take his eyes off the young lady, nor she off him. After breakfast, the gentleman ordered Jack to cut down all the tall trees for miles around, and not just any time, but exactly by eight o'clock the next morning.
Well, to make a long story short, it was all done. The gentleman was very pleased and said to Jack:
"And now, here's your final task. Build me a beautiful castle by tomorrow morning, standing on twelve golden pillars. Let a regiment of well-drilled soldiers appear at the castle, and at exactly eight o'clock, the commander must give the order: 'Shoulder arms!'"
"Alright!" replied Jack.
And when the third morning came, the third and final great miracle was performed. Jack was allowed to marry the young lady. But if only he had known what awaited him in the future!
On the occasion of his daughter's engagement, the gentleman organized a grand hunt and invited the most distinguished guests to it. At the same time, he wanted to show off his new castle. And to Jack, he gifted an excellent horse and a red hunting outfit.
That morning, a servant, while tidying up Jack's clothes, reached into one of the pockets of his vest and pulled out a golden snuffbox. Poor Jack had left it there by mistake! The servant opened the snuffbox, and three little men in red caps jumped out and asked:
- What do you command?
- Here's what, - said the servant, - take this castle far away from here, somewhere beyond the sea!
- Very well, - said the little men. - And you along with it?
- Of course! - replied the servant.
- Hold on tight! - said the little men, and they flew far, far away across the wide sea.
When the distinguished guests returned from the hunt, the castle on twelve golden pillars was gone! Poor Jack was threatened that, as punishment for the deception, his beautiful bride would be taken away from him. But in the end, it was decided that Jack would be given twelve months and one day to search for the missing castle. And so, he set off on his journey on a good horse with money in his pocket.
Yes, that’s how poor Jack set out to find his lost castle, traveling through mountains and valleys, plains and hills, dense forests, and animal trails. Wherever he wandered is impossible to tell, and not worth recounting.
Finally, he arrived in the land where the Mouse King lived. At the gates of the royal castle stood a little mouse on guard. It tried to stop Jack, but he asked:
- Where is the king? I need to see him!
Then the little mouse showed Jack the way. The Mouse King began questioning Jack and asked where he was headed. Well, Jack told him the whole truth: how he had lost his beautiful castle and was now searching for it, and that he had been given exactly a year and one day to do so. At the end, Jack asked the Mouse King if he had heard anything about it.
- No, - replied the king, - but I am the ruler of all the mice in the world! Tomorrow morning I will summon them. Perhaps they have seen your castle.
Jack was well-fed and put to bed. In the morning, he went out into the field with the king.
The king summoned mice from all over the world and asked if they had seen a large and beautiful castle on golden pillars. But all the mice answered "no," none had seen it. Then the old king told Jack that he had two brothers:
- One of them is the king of all frogs, and the other, the eldest, is the king of all the birds in the world. Go to them! Perhaps they know something about the missing castle. Leave your horse here with me for now, and take one of my best steeds. And give this pie to my brother. That way, he will know who sent you. And remember, you must tell him that I am well and very much wish to see him.
And so, the Mouse King bid Jack farewell.
As Jack was leaving the gates, the mouse guard said to him:
- Would you like me to come with you?
- It’s not necessary, - replied Jack, - the king might get angry!
But the little one insisted:
- Better take me with you! I might be of use to you.
- Fine, hop into my pocket! - Jack agreed.
The little mouse ran up the horse’s leg and hid in Jack’s pocket.
And so, Jack set off on his journey. This was only the first day, and the road ahead was long. But eventually, Jack reached the kingdom of the frogs. At the castle gates stood a little frog with a gun on its shoulder. It tried to stop Jack, but when Jack said he wished to see the king himself, it let him pass.
As soon as Jack approached the doors, the Frog King came out to meet him and asked what he wanted. Jack told the king everything from beginning to end.
- Well, well, come in! - invited the king.
Jack was well-fed and put to bed here as well. In the morning, the king summoned frogs from all over the world and asked if they had seen a castle on twelve golden pillars. But the frogs croaked amusingly: "Ribbit-ribbit, ribbit-ribbit" - and answered: "No!"
Jack had to take another horse and another pie and set off to the third brother – the king of all the birds in the world.
At the gate, a little frog sentry asked Jack:
"Take me with you!"
At first, Jack refused, but then he shouted:
"Jump!" – and hid the little frog in another pocket before setting off on his journey.
This time, Jack had to travel three times as far. Finally, he reached his destination. A lovely little bird stood guard there. Jack walked past it – the bird didn’t say a word to him. Jack spoke with the king and told him everything about the vanished castle.
"Well," replied the bird king, "tomorrow morning you’ll find out if my birds know anything about your castle or not."
Jack took his horse to the stable, had a light meal, and went to sleep. When he woke up in the morning, he and the king went out into the field. The bird king called out in his own way, and birds from all over the world flocked to him.
The king asked them:
"Have you seen the castle on twelve golden pillars?"
And all the birds answered: "No!"
"That’s a pity," said the king. "But I don’t see our eagle among you."
Two birds were immediately sent to fetch the eagle. When he arrived, the king asked if he had seen the castle on golden pillars, and the eagle replied:
"Yes, I have! I just flew from there."
"Listen," the king said to him, "this young gentleman has lost it. You must take him back to the castle. But wait, first, have something to eat!"
And so, a calf was slaughtered, and the best pieces were given to the eagle so he could eat his fill – after all, the journey ahead was long, across the sea and with Jack on his back.
Finally, Jack saw his castle. Then he began to rack his brains about how to find the golden snuffbox. A little mouse suggested:
"Let me down to the ground, and I’ll bring you the snuffbox!"
Sure enough, the mouse slipped unnoticed into the castle and grabbed the snuffbox. But as it ran back, it accidentally dropped it and was nearly caught. Luckily, it managed to escape!
"Did you get it?" Jack asked.
"I did!" replied the mouse.
"Well, let’s go!" said Jack. "We need to hurry now." He hid the mouse in his pocket, mounted the eagle, and they flew off. But as they were flying over the sea, the mouse and the frog began to argue over who should hold the snuffbox. They started tugging at it, and – oh no! – dropped it into the depths of the sea.
"Well," said the frog to Jack, "I knew I’d be of use to you. Let me dive into the sea!"
The frog spent three days and three nights underwater and finally retrieved the snuffbox. This time, Jack hid the snuffbox deep in his vest pocket, and the eagle carried them all across the sea and over the mountains to the bird king’s castle. There, Jack thanked the king of all the birds in the world for his help, bid farewell to the eagle, mounted his horse, and rode off to the frog king.
Jack conveyed greetings from the frog king’s elder brother, took a new horse, and rode to the mouse king. He said goodbye to the king of all the mice in the world, mounted his horse, and turned toward home. But poor Jack was so tired that he fell asleep in the saddle, and if it hadn’t been for the three little men from the snuffbox, he surely would have gotten lost and missed his deadline. Luckily, the little men guided him back to the road.
Finally, Jack arrived at his father-in-law’s house. But the reception was far from warm – after all, Jack had returned without the castle. And what hurt the most was that even his young fiancée didn’t come out to greet him: her parents wouldn’t let her.
But then Jack, without hesitation, took out his father’s golden snuffbox, opened it, and ordered the little men to fly quickly and fetch the castle. And before the little men could even lower the castle to the ground – lo and behold! – Jack’s beautiful fiancée came running out of the house to meet him. Well, they got married, had a joyful wedding, and lived happily ever after.
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