Jack and the Golden Box

Once upon a time, a boy named Jack lived with his mother and father in a little cottage deep in the woods. When Jack set off to see the wide world, his mother baked him a cake, and his father gave him a tiny golden box with a lid. “Keep this safe,” said his father, “and only open it if you are in real trouble.”

Jack walked and walked until he came to a big house, where he met a gentleman’s daughter, and they liked each other at once. But her father frowned. “If you wish to marry her,” he said, “there must be a lake by my house tomorrow morning, with fine ships sailing on it.”

That night, Jack remembered the golden box, and he opened the lid. Out jumped three tiny men dressed all in red. “What would you like us to do?” they asked. Jack told them, and the little men bowed and hopped out of the window.

In the morning, there was a sparkling lake in front of the house, with ships sailing on it and flags waving. The gentleman was amazed, but he had one more task. “Now build a castle, standing on golden pillars,” he said. The next morning, there it stood, shining in the sun. So Jack married the gentleman’s daughter, and they lived happily in the golden castle.

But one day, Jack went out riding and forgot the little box in his other coat. A sneaky servant found it, and he opened the lid. “Take this castle far away over the sea,” he told the three little men, and away it went, with Jack’s wife inside!

Jack set off to find it, and first he came to the King of the Mice, who sent a clever little mouse with him. Next came the King of the Frogs, who sent a jolly little frog. At last he came to the King of the Birds, who called every bird in the sky. “I know where the castle is,” chirped one little bird. “Follow me!”

The bird led them over the sea to the castle, and the little mouse crept inside. The servant was fast asleep, so the mouse pulled the golden box right out of his pocket. But on the way home, the box slipped and fell into the sea, plop! The little frog dived down, found it on the sandy bottom, and brought it back to Jack.

Jack opened the lid, and out jumped the three little red men. “Please bring the castle home again,” said Jack, and before he could count to ten, it was back where it belonged. Jack hugged his wife, the sneaky servant was sent away, and they all lived happily ever after.