Jack the Giant-Killer, Level D (Grade Level 1-2)

Jack the Giant-Killer

          When Arthur was king, a good farmer lived in Cornwall. He had one son. His name was Jack. Jack was strong and brave. He never ran or hid when danger came.

          In those days a giant lived in near Cornwall. The giant was cruel to the Cornish people. He came to their towns and stole their oxen.

          At last Jack made up his mind to end this monster. One cold night he took a horn, a shovel, a pickaxe, and a lantern. He swam to the place where the giant lived. Then he set to work. By morning he had dug a big pit. He covered it with sticks and straw. He put some dirt on the top so it looked like solid ground. Then he blew his horn loudly. The Giant woke up and roared:

          “Villain! You will pay for waking me. I will eat you for breakfast!”

          But as he spoke, he fell into the pit.

          “Oh, ho, Mr. Giant!” said Jack. “Hungry now?”

          Then he struck the giant’s head with the pickaxe so hard that it killed him.

          Soon the rulers of Cornwall heard what Jack had done. They called him Jack the Giant Killer. They also gave him a sword and a belt. The belt had golden writing on it. It said:

“This is the good, brave Cornishman

Who killed the giant Cormoran.”

          There was another giant in England. His name was Blunderbore. He swore to kill Jack for killing Cormoran. One day Jack fell asleep in the woods. The giant found him there. When he saw the words on the belt, he knew who Jack was. He carried him off to his castle.

          When Jack awoke he was very scared. The giant locked him up. Then he went to get another giant to help him eat Jack for dinner. While he was gone, Jack heard other people crying and groaning. A sad voice said:

“Run, brave stranger, run away,

Or you’ll become the giant’s prey.

When he comes he’ll bring another,

Even crueler than his brother!”

          Poor Jack looked out of the window. Two giants were walking arm in arm.

          “Now,” he thought, “death or freedom is at hand.” There were two ropes in the room. Jack made a big loop with a knot in each of them. When the giants came in, he threw the ropes over their heads. He tied the other ends to a beam. He pulled the ropes until the giants couldn’t breathe. Then he drew his sword. He slipped down the ropes and killed them both.

          Jack took the keys from Blunderbore. He searched the castle. In one of the rooms he found three ladies. They told him that their husbands had been killed by the giant. Then he had left them to starve to death.

          Jack gave them the castle and all the riches in it, and then went on his way.

          After a few days, he got lost. Finally he found a large house. He went up to it and knocked. To his horror, a giant with two heads came out. But he spoke very nicely and let Jack into the house. He gave him a good bed to sleep in.

          Jack took off his clothes. He was very tired, but he could not sleep. Soon he heard the giant walking about in the next room. He was saying to himself:

“Though you sleep with me tonight,

You will not see the morning light.

I’ll club your head with all my might!”

          When he heard this, Jack got out of bed. He took a big piece of wood and put it in the bed. Then he hid in a dark corner of the room.

          In the middle of the night, the giant came with his great club. He struck the bed hard with it. Then he left. He thought he had killed Jack.

          In the morning Jack walked into the giant’s room. He thanked him for the bed. The giant was startled to see him. He said:

          “Oh! How did you sleep last night? Did you hear or see anything?”

          “Nothing much,” said Jack. “A rat gave me three or four slaps with his tail, but that was all.”

          The giant went and got two bowls of pudding for their breakfast.

          Jack did not want the giant to think that he could not eat as much as the giant. He hid a bag inside his coat. He then hid the pudding in this bag, so the giant thought he ate it.

          When breakfast was done, he said to the giant:

          “Now I will show you a fine trick. I can heal all wounds. I’ll show you.” He took a knife and ripped up the bag. All the pudding fell on the floor.

          “Ods splutter hur nails!” cried the giant. He did not want Jack to think he could not do the same thing. “Hur can do that hurself!” He pushed the knife into his stomach and fell down dead.

          Jack went farther on his trip. In a few days he met King Arthur’s son. The prince was going to save a lady from the power of a wicked magician. Jack went with him.

          The prince was very kind. Soon he gave away all his money. He didn’t know where they would sleep.

          “Sir,” said Jack, “a giant with three heads live near here. He can fight five hundred men at once. I will visit him. You wait here until I come back.”

          Jack rode to the gates of the castle, and gave a loud knock. The giant roared out:

          “Who is there?”

          “Your cousin Jack.”

          “What news, Cousin Jack?”

          “I have bad news for you. The king’s son is coming with two thousand men. They will kill you!”

          “Cousin Jack, this is bad news! But I have a big basement. I will hide there. You lock me in until the king’s son is gone.”

          So Jack locked the giant in the basement. Then he went back and got the prince. They spent the night in the castle.

          In the morning Jack gave the prince some of the giant’s gold and silver. Then the prince left. Jack let the giant out of the cellar.

          The giant thanked Jack for saving him. He asked what he should give him as a reward.

          “I only want the coat and the cap and the sword and the slippers beside the bed.”

          “Take them,” said the giant. “They will be very useful to you. The coat will make you invisible. The cap will give you knowledge. The sword will cut through anything, no matter what it is. The shoes will make you run fast.”

          Jack took the gifts and thanked the giant. Then he caught up with the prince.

          After a few days’ further journey they reached the home of the lady the prince had come to save.

          She greeted the prince and made a feast for him. Then she stood up and said:

          “I will give a handkerchief to someone tonight. In the morning you must tell me who I gave it to. If you can’t, you will die.”

          The prince went to bed very sadly, but Jack put on the cap of knowledge. It told him that the lady was under a spell. She had to meet the wicked magician every night in the forest.

          So Jack put on his coat of darkness and his shoes of swiftness. He was there before her. When the lady came, she gave the handkerchief to the magician. Jack cut off his head with his sword of sharpness. The spell ended.

          The next day the lady married the prince. Soon after they went to the court of King Arthur. Jack was made a Knight of the Round Table.

          Soon Jack set off again. On the third day of this trip he came to a wide forest. He heard screams. Soon he saw a giant. He had a knight and a lady by their hair. Jack got down from his horse. He put on his invisible coat. He cut off the giant’s legs. He fell on the ground. Then Jack set his foot on his neck and pushed his sword into the giant’s body.

          The knight and the lady were very happy. They begged Jack to come to their house. But Jack heard that the giant had a brother who was even more cruel. He would not rest until he had killed him too.

          Soon he came to the cave where the giants lived. There was the other giant sitting on a big block of wood. A club lay by his side. Jack was still wearing his coat of darkness. He went up to the giant and struck his head with his sword of sharpness. But he missed and only cut off his nose. The giant roared with pain.

          He took up his iron club. He began to swing it through the air, but he could not hit Jack because of his coat. Jack slipped behind the giant. He jumped onto the block of wood. Then he stabbed the giant in the back. After a few yells, the monster dropped down dead.

          Jack went into the cave to look for the treasure. One room held a great pot and a table, where the giants ate. Another part of the cave was full of men and women. The giants had locked them up. Jack set them all free. He gave them the treasure.

          Jack cut off the giant’s head. He sent it with the head of his brother to the court of King Arthur. Then he went back to the house of the knight and his lady.

          The knight gave a feast. He gave Jack a ring. On it was a picture of the giant. He had the knight and the lady by the hair. Around the picture it said:

“See here how we shook and how

The giant held us by the hair.

We surely would be dead by now

If brave Jack had not been there.”

          But then a man ran into the room. He told them that Thundel was coming. Thundel was a cruel giant with two heads. He had heard of the death of his brothers. Now he wanted to kill Jack. The guests shook with fear. But Jack said, “Let him come!”

          Around knight’s house was a moat. Over it was a bridge. Jack cut the bridge on both sides, nearly to the middle. Then he dressed in his magic coat. He went to meet the giant. The giant could not see Jack. But he could tell that someone was near, for he cried out:

“Fa, fe, fi, fo, fum,

I smell the blood of an Englishman

Be he alive, or be he dead,

I’ll grind his bones to make my bread.”

          “Well,” cried Jack. “You are a monstrous miller!”

          “Ah!” cried the giant. “You are the villain that killed my brothers! I will tear you with my teeth! I will grind your bones!”

          “You must catch me first!” said Jack. Then he took off his coat. He put on his shoes of swiftness. He began to run. The giant followed him like a walking castle.

          Jack led him round and round the house. Then he ran onto the bridge. The giant ran after him with his club. But when he came to where the bridge was cut, it broke. He fell into the water.

          Jack got a rope and flung it over his heads. Then he pulled him to the edge of the moat. He cut off the heads.

          Once again, Jack set out to find new adventures. He didn’t find any until he came to the foot of a high mountain. He saw a little house. He knocked at the door. An old man with a beard as white as snow opened it. The old man gave Jack food. Then he said:

          “My son, I know that you are the giant-killer. At the top of this mountain there is a magic castle. A giant lives there. His name is Galligantes. He catches many knights. Then a magician turns them into beasts. He has also caught the duke’s daughter. They turned her into a deer. Many knights have tried to end the spell, but two griffins guard the castle gate. Since you have an invisible coat, you can pass them. On the gates of the castle are words. They will tell you how to break the spell.”

          Jack said that he would try to break the spell. After a sound sleep, he set out.

          He passed by the griffins without fear of danger. They could not see him in his invisible coat.

          There was a golden trumpet on the castle gate. Under it were written these words:

“Whoever can this trumpet blow,

Will cause the giant’s overthrow.”

          Jack grabbed the golden trumpet and blew. It made the gates fly open. It shook the whole castle. The giant and the magician shook with fear. Jack killed the giant with his sword. The magician was carried off by a whirlwind. The castle turned to smoke. Then all the knights and ladies turned back to people.

          Jack’s fame rang through the whole country. The king gave him a big home to reward him for all his brave deeds. And Jack married the duke’s daughter. He lived in joy for the rest of his days.