'We had better hurry off now lest somebody else should come, and we might not know what to do'; and, followed by Michael, he hastily left the castle.Jack lingered behind for a few minutes to put pieces of gold, silver, and copper into his pocket, and to eat the food that his brothers had thrown down in the first room.Then he went after them, and found them lying down to rest in the midst of a forest.It was near sunset, and Martin began to feel hungry, so, when Jack arrived, he bade him return to the castle and bring the bread and cheese that they had left there.
'It is hardly worth doing that,' answered Jack; 'for I picked up the pieces and ate them myself.'
At this reply both brothers were beside themselves with anger, and fell upon the boy, beating him, and calling him names, till they were quite tired.
'Go where you like,' cried Martin with a final kick; 'but never come near us again.' And poor Jack ran weeping into the woods.
The next morning his brothers went home, and bought a beautiful house, where they lived with their mother like great lords.
Jack remained for some hours in hiding, thankful to be safe from his tormentors; but when no one came to trouble him, and his back did not ache so much, he began to think what he had better do.At length he made up his mind to go to the caste and take away as much money with him as would enable him to live in comfort for the rest of his life.
This being decided, he sprang up, and set out along the path which led to the castle.As before, the door stood open, and he went on till he had reached the hall of gold, and there he took off his jacket and tied the sleeves together so that it might make a kind of bag.He then began to pour in the gold by handfuls, when, all at once, a noise like thunder shook the castle.This was followed by a voice, hoarse as that of a bull, which cried:
'I smell the smell of a man.' And two giants entered.
'So, little worm! it is you who steal our treasures!' exclaimed the biggest.'Well, we have got you now, and we will cook you for supper!'
But here the other giant drew him aside, and for a moment or two they whispered together.At length the first giant spoke:
'To please my friend I will spare your life on condition that, for the future, you shall guard our treasures.If you are hungry take this little table and rap on it, saying, as you do so: "The dinner of an emperor!" and you will get as much food as you want.'
With a light heart Jack promised all that was asked of him, and for some days enjoyed himself mightily.He had everything he could wish for, and did nothing from morning till night; but by-and-by he began to get very tired of it all.
'Let the giants guard their treasures themselves,' he said to himself at last; 'I am going away.But I will leave all the gold and silver behind me, and will take nought but you, my good little table.'
So, tucking the table under his arm, he started off for the forest, but he did not linger there long, and soon found himself in the fields on the other side.There he saw an old man, who begged Jack to give him something to eat.
'You could not have asked a better person,' answered Jack cheerfully.
And signing to him to sit down with him under a tree, he set the table in front of them, and struck it three times, crying:
'The dinner of an emperor!' He had hardly uttered the words when fish and meat of all kinds appeared on it!
'That is a clever trick of yours,' said the old man, when he had eaten as much as he wanted.'Give it to me in exchange for a treasure I have which is still better.Do you see this cornet? Well, you have only to tell it that you wish for an army, and you will have as many soldiers as you require.'
Now, since he had been left to himself, Jack had grown ambitious, so, after a moment's hesitation, he took the cornet and gave the table in exchange.The old man bade him farewell, and set off down one path, while Jack chose another, and for a long time he was quite pleased with his new possession.Then, as he felt hungry, he wished for his table back again, as no house was in sight, and he wanted some supper badly.
All at once he remembered his cornet, and a wicked thought entered his mind.
'Two hundred hussars, forward!' cried he.And the neighing of horses and the clanking of swords were heard close at hand.The officer who rode at their head approached Jack, and politely inquired what he wished them to do.
'A mile or two along that road,' answered Jack, 'you will find an old man carrying a table.Take the table from him and bring it to me.'
The officer saluted and went back to his men, who started at a gallop to do Jack's bidding.
In ten minutes they had returned, bearing the table with them.
'That is all, thank you,' said Jack; and the soldiers disappeared inside the cornet.
Oh, what a good supper Jack had that night, quite forgetting that he owed it to a mean trick.The next day he breakfasted early, and then walked on towards the nearest town.On the way thither he met another old man, who begged for something to eat.
'Certainly, you shall have something to eat,' replied Jack.And, placing the table on the ground he cried:
'The dinner of an emperor!' when all sorts of food dishes appeared.At first the old man ate quite greedily, and said nothing; but, after his hunger was satisfied, he turned to Jack and said:
'That is a very clever trick of yours.Give the table to me and you shall have something still better.'
'I don't believe that there is anything better,' answered Jack.
'Yes, there is.Here is my bag; it will give you as many castles as you can possibly want.'
Jack thought for a moment; then he replied: 'Very well, I will exchange with you.' And passing the table to the old man, he hung the bag over his arm.
Five minutes later he summoned five hundred lancers out of the cornet and bade them go after the old man and fetch back the table.
