The History of Jack the Giant-Killer

In the days of the famous King Arthur there lived in Cornwall a boy named Jack. He was bold and brave, and loved to hear stories about wizards, giants, and fairies. He listened eagerly to tales of King Arthur's knights.

At that time, on St. Michael's Mount near Cornwall, there lived a huge giant. He was eighteen feet tall and nine feet around. His fierce and cruel looks terrified everyone who saw him.

He lived in a dark cave at the top of the mountain. He would wade across the water to the mainland to find food. He would throw half a dozen oxen onto his back, tie three times as many sheep and pigs around his waist, and march back home.

The giant had done this for many years when Jack decided to destroy him.

Jack took a horn, a shovel, a pickaxe, his armor, and a dark lantern. One winter evening he went to the mountain. He dug a pit twenty-two feet deep and twenty feet wide. He covered the top to make it look like solid ground. Then he blew his horn so loudly that the giant woke up and came out of his cave, shouting, "You saucy villain! You'll pay for this! I'll broil you for my breakfast!"

Just as he finished speaking, he took one step forward and fell headfirst into the pit. Jack struck him on the head with his pickaxe and killed him. Then Jack went home to tell his friends the good news.

Another giant, named Blunderbore, swore to get revenge on Jack if he ever caught him. This giant lived in an enchanted castle in the middle of a lonely wood. Some time after Jack killed Cormoran, Jack was walking through a wood. He was tired, so he sat down and fell asleep.

The giant came by, saw Jack, and carried him to his castle. He locked Jack in a large room. The floor was covered with the bodies, skulls, and bones of men and women.

Soon the giant went to fetch his brother, who was also a giant, to eat Jack's flesh. Jack saw through the bars of his prison the two giants coming.

Jack saw a strong rope in a corner of the room. He took courage. He made a slipknot at each end, threw the ropes over the giants' heads, and tied them to the window bars. Then he pulled until he choked them. When their faces turned black, he slid down the rope and stabbed them in the heart.

Next, Jack took a big bunch of keys from Blunderbore's pocket and searched the castle. In one room he found three ladies tied up by their hair, nearly starved to death. They told him that the giants had killed their husbands and then forced them to starve because they refused to eat their own dead husbands' flesh.

"Ladies," said Jack, "I have killed the monster and his wicked brother. I give you this castle and all its riches to make up for your suffering." He politely gave them the keys and continued his journey to Wales.

Jack had little money, so he walked as fast as he could. At last he came to a handsome house. He knocked, and a Welsh giant came out. Jack said he was a traveler who had lost his way. The giant welcomed him and showed him to a room with a good bed.

Jack quickly took off his clothes, but though he was tired, he could not sleep. Soon he heard the giant walking back and forth in the next room, saying to himself:

"Though here you lodge with me this night, You shall not see the morning light; My club shall dash your brains out quite."

"Is that so?" thought Jack. "Are these your tricks on travelers? But I'll be just as clever as you." He got out of bed, felt around the room, and found a large thick log. He put it in his bed where he would have lain, and then hid in a dark corner.

Around midnight, the giant came into the room and struck the bed many times with his club, right where Jack had put the log. Then he went back to his room, thinking he had broken all Jack's bones.

Early in the morning, Jack put on a brave face and walked into the giant's room to thank him for the lodging. The giant was startled when he saw him and stammered, "Oh! Dear me, is it you? How did you sleep last night? Did you hear or see anything in the dead of night?"

"Nothing to mention," said Jack carelessly. "I think a rat gave me three or four slaps with its tail and disturbed me a little, but I soon went back to sleep."

The giant wondered even more but said nothing. He went to bring two big bowls of porridge for breakfast. Jack wanted to make the giant believe he could eat as much as him, so he secretly buttoned a leather bag inside his coat and poured the porridge into the bag while pretending to eat it.

When breakfast was over, he said to the giant, "Now I'll show you a fine trick. I can cure any wound with a touch. I could cut off my head and in a minute put it back on my shoulders. Watch." He took the knife, ripped open the leather bag, and all the porridge fell out onto the floor.

"Ods splutter hur nails!" cried the Welsh giant, ashamed to be outdone by such a little fellow. "Hur can do that hurself!" He grabbed the knife, plunged it into his own stomach, and dropped dead.

Jack had been successful in everything so far, so he decided to keep busy. He got himself a horse, a cap of knowledge, a sword of sharpness, shoes of swiftness, and an invisible coat to help him with the great adventures ahead.

He traveled over high hills, and on the third day he came to a large forest. No sooner had he entered than he saw a monstrous giant dragging a handsome knight and his lady by their hair. Jack got off his horse, tied it to an oak tree, put on his invisible coat, and carried his sword of sharpness.

He approached the giant and struck him several times. He could not reach his body, but he wounded his thighs. Finally, he put both hands on his sword and swung with all his might, cutting off both the giant's legs. Then Jack set his foot on the giant's neck and plunged his sword into his body. The giant groaned and died.

The knight and his lady thanked Jack and invited him to their house for a reward. "No," said Jack, "I cannot rest until I find this monster's home." So he took the knight's directions, mounted his horse, and soon saw another giant sitting on a block of wood, waiting for his brother.

Jack got off his horse, put on his invisible coat, and aimed a blow at the giant's head. But he missed and only cut off his nose. The giant grabbed his club and swung wildly.

"Well," said Jack, "if that's how it is, I'd better finish you!" He jumped onto the block and stabbed the giant in the back. The giant fell dead.

Jack continued his journey over hills and valleys until he came to the foot of a high mountain. He knocked at the door of a lonely house, and an old man let him in.

When Jack was seated, the hermit said, "My son, on top of this mountain is an enchanted castle kept by the giant Galligantus and a wicked magician. I weep for a duke's daughter. They seized her while she walked in her father's garden and turned her into a deer."

Jack promised that in the morning he would break the enchantment, even at the risk of his life. After a good sleep, he rose early, put on his invisible coat, and prepared for the attempt.

He climbed to the top of the mountain and saw two fiery griffins. But he passed between them without fear because they could not see him. On the castle gate he found a golden trumpet with these words written underneath:

"Whoever can this trumpet blow Shall cause the giant's overthrow."

As soon as Jack read this, he seized the trumpet and blew a shrill blast. The gates flew open, and the castle trembled.

The giant and the magician knew their wicked time was over. They stood biting their thumbs and shaking with fear. Jack quickly killed the giant with his sword of sharpness, and a whirlwind carried away the magician. Then every knight and beautiful lady who had been turned into birds and beasts returned to their true forms. The castle vanished like smoke, and the head of the giant Galligantus was sent to King Arthur.

The knights and ladies rested that night at the hermit's house, and the next day they set out for the court. Jack went to the king and told him about all his fierce battles.

Jack's fame spread throughout the land. At the king's request, the duke gave his daughter to Jack in marriage, to the joy of the whole kingdom. The king gave Jack a large estate, where he and his lady lived in happiness for the rest of their days.