How Jack Went to Seek His Fortune

Once upon a time, a boy named Jack decided it was time to go out into the world and seek his fortune. He said goodbye to his mother, picked up his bundle, and set off down the road. He had not gone very far when he met a cat. “Where are you going, Jack?” asked the cat. “I am going to seek my fortune,” said Jack. “May I come with you?” asked the cat. “Of course, come along!” said Jack.

So on they went, and soon they met a dog. “Where are you going, Jack?” barked the dog. “I am going to seek my fortune,” said Jack. “May I come with you?” asked the dog. “Of course, come along!” said Jack. Then they met a goat, and then a bull, and then a rooster, and each one asked the very same thing. And each time, Jack said, “Of course, come along!”

Jack, the cat, the dog, the goat, the bull, and the rooster walked on until it grew dark. At last, they saw a little house in the woods with a light in the window. Jack peeked inside and saw a band of robbers counting bags of gold they had stolen from the village. “I have an idea,” Jack whispered to his friends, “when I give the signal, everyone make as much noise as you can.”

Jack gave the signal, and all at once the animals made a tremendous racket. The cat meowed, the dog barked, the goat bleated, the bull bellowed, and the rooster crowed. The robbers had never heard such a noise in all their lives. “It’s a monster!” they cried, and they ran out of the house and far away into the woods.

Later that night, one robber crept back to see what was there. In the dark, the cat hissed at him, the dog growled, and the goat gave him a little push. The bull bellowed so loudly that the robber’s hat blew off, and the rooster flapped and crowed, “Cock-a-doodle-doo!” The robber ran back to his friends as fast as his legs could carry him. “That house is full of monsters, and we must never go back!” he said. And the robbers never did come back.

In the morning, Jack gave the bags of gold back to the people of the village. The villagers were so grateful that they gave Jack the little house in the woods to keep. So Jack and his five friends lived there together, happy and safe, and that was his fortune after all.