Lucky Jack

Once upon a time there was a boy named Jack who was mistreated. His father beat him often, so he ran away from home when he was old enough.

He came across a woman and agreed to be her servant. He worked hard picking up sticks for her and doing other chores. He worked hard and after a year, she paid him with a donkey. The boy soon learned that the donkey would spit money if he pulled its ears.

He set off and soon came to an inn. The inn asked for his money up front, so he went out to his donkey and pulled its ears until money came out. The innkeeper saw what the donkey could do and switched it out at night. Jack set off the next morning not knowing he left with a different donkey.

He returned home to tell his father he wanted to marry his sweetheart who lived next door, but the father said he needed money to marry. The fake donkey did not give him money though, so the father beat him and he left.

Jack went on until he came across a carpenter who wanted Jack's help. Jack worked for the carpenter for a year, and then the carpenter paid him with a magical table. The table would make any food appear. The boy was ecstatic with his new possession.

He was tired, though, and decided to stay the night at the inn before heading home again. When he arrived at the inn, he tried to order dinner, but the inn was out of food. Jack told the innkeeper it was no problem and went to his new table. He asked the table for dinner and food appeared. That night the innkeeper switched the tables while Jack slept.

Again, off Jack went to his father's in hopes that he would have permission to marry. When Jack arrived, his father said Jack could not provide for a wife, so he could not marry. Jack assured his father that he could and brought his table in. Jack asked the table for food but nothing appeared. The father became angry and beat Jack until he ran away.

Jack soon came to a bridge builder who needed help and Jack offered to work for him. Jack worked hard for a year. At the end of the year, the bridge builder offered Jack a magical stick that would beat up all his enemies. Jack took his new stick and went off to the inn. The innkeeper seemed to take a great interest in Jack and asked him if he had any new things. Jack then realized that the innkeeper had been taking his things and sent his new stick after him. After the stick beat up the innkeeper, Jack retrieved his table and donkey.

Jack then went to his father's house but learned that his father had died. With no obstacles in the way, Jack went to his sweetheart's house and asked her to marry him. She of course said yes and they lived with great wealth having never ending money, safety, and food. They lived happily ever after.

Author's Note:

In the original story, everything is somewhat the same, but I changed a few things to make more sense. Also, I wanted to make Jack a better person. In the original, Jack finally gets his stuff back and goes to marry but makes the girl he likes cry because he rejects her since he is wealthy now and she is not. She cries and those tears turn to diamonds making Jack want her again. This seemed unfair since Jack had just acquired wealth and it was not nice to reject his love because she was poor.

Even though they still ended up together in the original, I wanted it to be nicer ending without Jack being changed by the money. He also beats the other girls with the stick after ending up with the girl he wanted all along, so I did not include that because it seemed mean and unnecessary. It was not the girls’ fault that they did not have enough money to marry him and yet he punished them for it anyway. He definitely seemed to have been changed by his power and wealth. Altogether, the story is very similar but I am a sucker for a happy ending, and I felt like some of that happiness was taken away in the original because of Jack’s behavior.

Image Information: (Couple in love, Pixabay), (Stick, StickPNG), (Table, Pixabay), (Donkey, Wikimedia Commons)

Bibliography: English Fairy Tales by Joseph Jacobs with illustrations by John D. Batten (1890).