Jack and His Golden Snuff-Box
Encyclopedia
Jack and His Golden Snuff-Box is a Gypsy fairy tale
collected by Joseph Jacobs
in English Fairy Tales. He listed as his source Francis Hindes Groome
's In Gypsy Tents.
Ruth Manning-Sanders
included it in The Red King and the Witch: Gypsy Folk and Fairy Tales
.
He came to a house and asked for some food and a place to stay. The servant told the master, who asked him what he could do; he said, anything, meaning any bit of work about the house, but the master demanded a great lake and a man-of-war on it, ready to fire a salute, or Jack would forfeit his life. Jack opened the snuff-box, and three little red men hopped out. He told them what was needed, and they told him to go to sleep. In the morning, there was a lake and a man-of-war.
The master said that with two more tasks, he could marry his daughter. He felled all the trees about, and built the master a castle with a regiment, and married the daughter.
One day, as they went on a hunt, a valet found the snuff-box and with it carried the castle and himself over the sea. The master threatened to take Jack's wife from him, but agreed that Jack should have a year and a day to bring it back. He set out and met the King of the Mice, who summoned all the mice in the world. When none of them had seen it, he sent Jack on to the King of the Frogs, giving him a new horse. A little mouse asked to come with him, Jack tried to refuse on the grounds of offending the king, but the mouse told him it would be better. The King of the Frogs summoned all the frogs in the world. When none of them had seen it, he sent Jack on to the King of the Birds. A little frog asked to come with him, and again Jack was persuaded. The King of the Birds summoned all the birds, and last of all, an eagle came, and told of the castle. The eagle carried him to it, and the mouse stole the box back. They quarreled as they went back, and the box fell into the sea, but the frog retrieved it.
When he returned to the King of the Birds, he had the little men retrieve the castle. The men waited until everyone there but a cook and a maid had left for a dance; then they asked them whether they would rather go or stay, and when they said go, told them to run into the castle. Then Jack had them carry it to the King of the Frogs, and then next day to the King of the Mice, where he left it and rode home on his horse. There, he had the little men bring him the castle, and his wife showed him his new son.
, The Girl and the Dead Man
, The Adventures of Covan the Brown-haired
, and The King Of Lochlin's Three Daughters
-- but this tale is unique in that the big cake is not claimed by the hero's older brothers, but by the hero himself. Even in Jack and his Comrades
, where the hero is the only one offered it, he prefers the smaller cake and the blessing.
Parts of the tale also echo some parts of the Aladdin
story - the hero winning a bride due to the genie/little men magically creating a palace/castle - and the lamp/snuffbox being stolen and recovered.
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
collected by Joseph Jacobs
Joseph Jacobs
Joseph Jacobs was a folklorist, literary critic and historian. His works included contributions to the Jewish Encyclopaedia, translations of European works, and critical editions of early English literature...
in English Fairy Tales. He listed as his source Francis Hindes Groome
Francis Hindes Groome
Francis Hindes Groome , miscellaneous writer, son of a clergyman, wrote for various encyclopaedias, etc. He was a student of the Gypsies and their language, and published In Gypsy Tents , Gypsy Folk Tales , and an editor of Borrow's Lavengro...
's In Gypsy Tents.
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders
Ruth Manning-Sanders was a prolific British poet and author who was perhaps best known for her series of children's books in which she collected and retold fairy tales from all over the world. All told, she published more than 90 books during her lifetime. The dust jacket for A Book of Giants...
included it in The Red King and the Witch: Gypsy Folk and Fairy Tales
The Red King and the Witch: Gypsy Folk and Fairy Tales
The Red King and the Witch: Gypsy Folk and Fairy Tales is a 1965 anthology of 25 tales that have been collected and retold by Ruth Manning-Sanders...
.
Synopsis
Jack lived with his parents in the forest, never seeing anyone else. He decided to leave one day, and his mother offered him a big cake with her curse or a little one with her blessing. He took the big one. He met his father on the way, and his father gave him a golden snuff-box, to open only when he was in danger of death.He came to a house and asked for some food and a place to stay. The servant told the master, who asked him what he could do; he said, anything, meaning any bit of work about the house, but the master demanded a great lake and a man-of-war on it, ready to fire a salute, or Jack would forfeit his life. Jack opened the snuff-box, and three little red men hopped out. He told them what was needed, and they told him to go to sleep. In the morning, there was a lake and a man-of-war.
The master said that with two more tasks, he could marry his daughter. He felled all the trees about, and built the master a castle with a regiment, and married the daughter.
One day, as they went on a hunt, a valet found the snuff-box and with it carried the castle and himself over the sea. The master threatened to take Jack's wife from him, but agreed that Jack should have a year and a day to bring it back. He set out and met the King of the Mice, who summoned all the mice in the world. When none of them had seen it, he sent Jack on to the King of the Frogs, giving him a new horse. A little mouse asked to come with him, Jack tried to refuse on the grounds of offending the king, but the mouse told him it would be better. The King of the Frogs summoned all the frogs in the world. When none of them had seen it, he sent Jack on to the King of the Birds. A little frog asked to come with him, and again Jack was persuaded. The King of the Birds summoned all the birds, and last of all, an eagle came, and told of the castle. The eagle carried him to it, and the mouse stole the box back. They quarreled as they went back, and the box fell into the sea, but the frog retrieved it.
When he returned to the King of the Birds, he had the little men retrieve the castle. The men waited until everyone there but a cook and a maid had left for a dance; then they asked them whether they would rather go or stay, and when they said go, told them to run into the castle. Then Jack had them carry it to the King of the Frogs, and then next day to the King of the Mice, where he left it and rode home on his horse. There, he had the little men bring him the castle, and his wife showed him his new son.
Commentary
The offer of a big cake or a little is common in British fairy tales -- The Red EttinThe Red Ettin
The Red Ettin or The Red Etin is a fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs. It was included by Andrew Lang in The Blue Fairy Book.-Synopsis:Two widows lived in a hut, and one had two sons and the other had one -- or a single widow had three sons...
, The Girl and the Dead Man
The Girl and the Dead Man
The Girl and the Dead Man is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as Ann Darroch, in Islay.-Synopsis:...
, The Adventures of Covan the Brown-haired
The Adventures of Covan the Brown-haired
The Adventures of Covan the Brown-haired is a Celtic fairy tale translated by Dr. Macleod Clarke. Andrew Lang included it in The Orange Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...
, and The King Of Lochlin's Three Daughters
The King Of Lochlin's Three Daughters
"The King of Lochlin's Three Daughters" is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in his Popular Tales of the West Highlands, listing his informant as Neill Gillies, a fisherman near Inverary.-Synopsis:...
-- but this tale is unique in that the big cake is not claimed by the hero's older brothers, but by the hero himself. Even in Jack and his Comrades
Jack and his Comrades
Jack and his Comrades is an Irish fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs, listing as his source Patrick Kennedy's Legendary Fictions of the Irish Celts.In the Aarne-Thompson categorisation system, it is "type 130", i.e. "outcast animals find a new home"....
, where the hero is the only one offered it, he prefers the smaller cake and the blessing.
Parts of the tale also echo some parts of the Aladdin
Aladdin
Aladdin is a Middle Eastern folk tale. It is one of the tales in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights , and one of the most famous, although it was actually added to the collection by Antoine Galland ....
story - the hero winning a bride due to the genie/little men magically creating a palace/castle - and the lamp/snuffbox being stolen and recovered.
See also
- The Prince Who Wanted to See the WorldThe Prince Who Wanted to See the WorldThe Prince who wanted to see the World is a Portuguese fairy tale. Andrew Lang included it in The Violet Fairy Book.-Synopsis:A king's only son wanted to see the world and was so persistent that his father let him go...
- King KojataKing KojataKing Kojata or The Unlooked for Prince or Prince Unexpected is a Slavonic fairy tale. Andrew Lang included the Russian version King Kojata, in The Green Fairy Book. A. H. Wratislaw collected a Polish variant Prince Unexpected in his Sixty Folk-Tales from Exclusively Slavonic Sources, number 17...
- AladdinAladdinAladdin is a Middle Eastern folk tale. It is one of the tales in The Book of One Thousand and One Nights , and one of the most famous, although it was actually added to the collection by Antoine Galland ....
- The Bronze RingThe Bronze RingThe Bronze Ring is the first story in The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang. According to Lang's preface, this version of this fairy tale from the Middle East or Central Asia was translated and adapted from Traditions Populaires de l'Asie Mineure by Carnoy et Nicolaides...
- The Prince and the Princess in the ForestThe Prince and the Princess in the ForestThe Prince and the Princess in the Forest is a Danish fairy tale. It was collected by Evald Tang Kristensen in "Eventyr fra Jylland". Andrew Lang included it in The Olive Fairy Book.-Synopsis:...