English / B1
Lazy Jack
Jack lived with his mother, who earned their living by making thread. They had very little money. Jack preferred sitting in the sun or beside the fire to helping her. Everyone called him Lazy Jack.
One Monday, his mother finally lost patience. “If you don’t start working for your food, you must leave,” she told him.
The next day, Jack worked for a farmer and earned a penny. He had never had money before. On his way home, he dropped it while crossing a stream.
“You should put money in your pocket,” said his mother.
“I’ll do that next time,” Jack promised.
On Wednesday, he worked for a man who kept cows. This time, his payment was a jar of milk. Remembering his mother’s advice, Jack put it in his large coat pocket. By the time he reached home, all the milk had spilled.
“You should carry it on your head,” she said.
“I’ll do that next time.”
On Thursday, a farmer paid him with some soft cheese. Jack put it on his head and set off. Some fell onto the road, and the rest stuck to his hair.
“You should carry it carefully in your hands,” his mother explained.
On Friday, Jack worked for a baker, who gave him a large cat. He carried it in his hands, just as his mother had told him. But it scratched him so badly that he had to let it go.
“You should tie a string round it and lead it behind you,” she said.
Jack promised to remember.
On Saturday, he worked for a butcher and received a large piece of meat. He tied a string round it and dragged it home through the dirt. It was completely ruined. His mother had hoped for a good Sunday dinner; now she had only cabbage.
“You should carry it on your shoulders!” she cried.
On Monday, Jack’s payment was a donkey. It was difficult, but he managed to lift it onto his shoulders. Then he walked slowly home.
A rich man lived along the road with his daughter. She could neither hear nor speak and had never laughed. Her doctors said she would not speak until someone made her laugh. Her father had promised that she could marry the person who made her laugh.
Looking out of her window, she saw Jack with the donkey’s legs sticking up above his shoulders. The sight was so funny that she burst out laughing. At once, she could hear and speak.
Her father was delighted and kept his promise. Jack married her and became a rich man. His mother lived happily with them in their large house.
English summary · includes the ending
Jack lives with his mother, who is tired of supporting him alone. She tells him to find work. His first payment is a penny, but he drops it into a stream. His mother says he should use his pocket.
Jack follows this advice the next day, when he is paid in milk. It spills. Each new instruction causes another problem: he carries soft cheese on his head, a cat in his hands, and meat on a string along the ground. Finally, told to use his shoulders, he carries home a donkey.
A rich man’s daughter sees this strange sight and laughs for the first time. In the tale, this restores her hearing and speech. Her delighted father keeps his promise and gives her hand in marriage to the person who made her laugh. Jack becomes wealthy, and his mother joins the couple in their large house.
Adapted for LEJRBÅL from Joseph Jacobs’s public-domain collection English Fairy Tales (source edition: 1890).
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