Read Online Jack and the Devil's Purse by Duncan Williamson - Free Book Online
Authors: Duncan Williamson
Ads: Link
going back; you’re going with me!’
So the next morning he went up and tellt the old man and woman: he said, ‘I have to go back to my father and mother.’
The old man and the old woman didn’t want to see him go. They loved him like their own son.
She says, ‘Look, when you go back, if you ever get a woman come back! Come back, Jack, laddie, come back!’They loved him so much. By this time the old man’s leg was a bit better. He could go about with a staff.
‘Laddie,’ he said, ‘you saved my life. The wonderful things you’ve done for me. Please, please, Jack, come back!’
‘Well,’ Jack said, ‘we’ll have to wait and see.’
So that night he lay on the top of the bed as usual till the clock struck twelve o’clock. The wee hen had come in at ten. And at twelve o’clock the same thing happened – there was the young woman.
He tellt her straight: ‘Look, tomorrow I must go.’
She said, ‘Will you take me with you?’
‘Well,’ he said, ‘there’s nothing else for it.’
She says, ‘Look, if you take me with you, you’d better watch me and be very careful with me, Jack. Because if a dog or cat or anything kills me, Jack, that’ll be it finished. And I can’t take back my form again till you marry me in church. And look on my foot. You’ll see a ring.’
Jack looked. And there was a big silver ring on the wee hen’s foot.
‘Now,’ she says, ‘take it off, Jack, and keep it in your pocket and don’t lose it!’
So then the candle went out once again. It got black dark and Jack fell sound asleep. He wakened in the morning and there was the wee hen coorying beside him.
So he packed all his wee bits o’ belongings, went to the house and filled his pockets full of grain from the old farmer’s shed. Bade the old man and the old woman goodbye, promised he would come back. Took the wee hen below his oxter and off he set.
He travelled on, sleeping in places here and sleeping in places there, giving the hen a wee taste of grain, feeding it and giving it a wee drink of water and taking good care of it. By the time he landed back at his father’s farm one lateevening the farm was in lunaries, lighted up! There were lights in every window, music playing, the old-fashioned gramophone was going.
Jack said, ‘There must be a big party going on!’
The wee hen below his oxter, he walks into the great big sitting room of the farm. There was his father sitting by the fire, and his mother. Oh, his mother was in tears to see him back. He still kept his wee hen below his oxter. He put his one arm around his mother and he shook hands with his father. There sitting at the table were his two brothers with two beautiful young women.
Sandy had worked away with the farmer, fallen in love with the farmer’s daughter. And the farmer had given Sandy his daughter to be married. Willie had worked away with the old cobbler, and the cobbler thought the world of Willie. Willie fell in love with the cobbler’s daughter. And the cobbler gave Willie his daughter. Willie promised he would marry her and come back to the cobbler’s shop. He’d have it to himself, because Willie had turned out to become a great cobbler, with him used to working in leather. Now they had everything they needed. All they needed was Jack. And they were waiting and this was when Jack walked into the farm house.
So after they all sat for a while the old farmer got out a bottle of whisky and passed it round. He was toasting them all.
He says, ‘Jack, where’s your bride? Your young lady?’
Jack said, ‘Here – this is her!’
And Willie’s future wife looked and she grunted her nose. And Sandy looked.
He said, ‘But Jack, that’s a hen!’
Aye,’ he said, ‘it’s a hen and it’s my hen. And tomorrow’s the day, Father. Have you made arrangements?’
‘Oh, of course we’ve got the arrangements. Everything’s laid on for tomorrow. The carriage is coming for youse all. But where’s your wife?’
He said, ‘I
So the next morning he went up and tellt the old man and woman: he said, ‘I have to go back to my father and mother.’
The old man and the old woman didn’t want to see him go. They loved him like their own son.
She says, ‘Look, when you go back, if you ever get a woman come back! Come back, Jack, laddie, come back!’They loved him so much. By this time the old man’s leg was a bit better. He could go about with a staff.
‘Laddie,’ he said, ‘you saved my life. The wonderful things you’ve done for me. Please, please, Jack, come back!’
‘Well,’ Jack said, ‘we’ll have to wait and see.’
So that night he lay on the top of the bed as usual till the clock struck twelve o’clock. The wee hen had come in at ten. And at twelve o’clock the same thing happened – there was the young woman.
He tellt her straight: ‘Look, tomorrow I must go.’
She said, ‘Will you take me with you?’
‘Well,’ he said, ‘there’s nothing else for it.’
She says, ‘Look, if you take me with you, you’d better watch me and be very careful with me, Jack. Because if a dog or cat or anything kills me, Jack, that’ll be it finished. And I can’t take back my form again till you marry me in church. And look on my foot. You’ll see a ring.’
Jack looked. And there was a big silver ring on the wee hen’s foot.
‘Now,’ she says, ‘take it off, Jack, and keep it in your pocket and don’t lose it!’
So then the candle went out once again. It got black dark and Jack fell sound asleep. He wakened in the morning and there was the wee hen coorying beside him.
So he packed all his wee bits o’ belongings, went to the house and filled his pockets full of grain from the old farmer’s shed. Bade the old man and the old woman goodbye, promised he would come back. Took the wee hen below his oxter and off he set.
He travelled on, sleeping in places here and sleeping in places there, giving the hen a wee taste of grain, feeding it and giving it a wee drink of water and taking good care of it. By the time he landed back at his father’s farm one lateevening the farm was in lunaries, lighted up! There were lights in every window, music playing, the old-fashioned gramophone was going.
Jack said, ‘There must be a big party going on!’
The wee hen below his oxter, he walks into the great big sitting room of the farm. There was his father sitting by the fire, and his mother. Oh, his mother was in tears to see him back. He still kept his wee hen below his oxter. He put his one arm around his mother and he shook hands with his father. There sitting at the table were his two brothers with two beautiful young women.
Sandy had worked away with the farmer, fallen in love with the farmer’s daughter. And the farmer had given Sandy his daughter to be married. Willie had worked away with the old cobbler, and the cobbler thought the world of Willie. Willie fell in love with the cobbler’s daughter. And the cobbler gave Willie his daughter. Willie promised he would marry her and come back to the cobbler’s shop. He’d have it to himself, because Willie had turned out to become a great cobbler, with him used to working in leather. Now they had everything they needed. All they needed was Jack. And they were waiting and this was when Jack walked into the farm house.
So after they all sat for a while the old farmer got out a bottle of whisky and passed it round. He was toasting them all.
He says, ‘Jack, where’s your bride? Your young lady?’
Jack said, ‘Here – this is her!’
And Willie’s future wife looked and she grunted her nose. And Sandy looked.
He said, ‘But Jack, that’s a hen!’
Aye,’ he said, ‘it’s a hen and it’s my hen. And tomorrow’s the day, Father. Have you made arrangements?’
‘Oh, of course we’ve got the arrangements. Everything’s laid on for tomorrow. The carriage is coming for youse all. But where’s your wife?’
He said, ‘I
Similar Books
