Jack and His Golden Snuff-Box is a

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

fairy tale A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...

collected by

Joseph Jacobs Joseph Jacobs (29 August 1854 – 30 January 1916) was an Australian folklorist, translator, literary critic, social scientist, historian and writer of English literature who became a notable collector and publisher of English folklore. Jacobs ...

in ''English Fairy Tales''. He listed as his source

Francis Hindes Groome Francis Hindes Groome (30 August 1851 – 24 January 1902), son of Robert Hindes Groome, Archdeacon of Suffolk, was a writer and foremost commentator of his time on the Romani people, their language, life, history, customs, beliefs, and lore. Li ...

's ''In Gypsy Tents''.

Ruth Manning-Sanders Ruth Manning-Sanders (21 August 1886 – 12 October 1988) was an English poet and author born in Wales, known for a series of children's books for which she collected and related fairy tales worldwide. She published over 90 books in her lifetime ...

included it in '' The Red King and the Witch: Gypsy Folk and Fairy Tales''.

Plot

Jack lived with his parents in the forest, never seeing anyone else. He decided to leave one day, and his mother offered him a big cake with her curse or a little one with her blessing. He took the big one. He met his father on the way, and his father gave him a golden snuff-box, to open only when he was in danger of death. He came to a house and asked for some food and a place to stay. The servant told the master, who asked him what he could do; he said, anything, meaning any bit of work about the house, but the master demanded a great lake and a

man-of-war The man-of-war (also man-o'-war, or simply man) was a Royal Navy expression for a powerful warship or frigate from the 16th to the 19th century. Although the term never acquired a specific meaning, it was usually reserved for a ship armed wi ...

on it, ready to fire a salute, or Jack would forfeit his life. Jack opened the snuff-box, and three little red men hopped out. He told them what was needed, and they told him to go to sleep. In the morning, there was a lake and a man-of-war. The master said that with two more tasks, he could marry his daughter. He felled all the trees about, and built the master a castle with a regiment, and married the daughter. One day, as they went on a hunt, a valet found the snuff-box and with it carried the castle and himself over the sea. The master threatened to take Jack's wife from him, but agreed that Jack should have a year and a day to bring it back. He set out and met the King of the Mice, who summoned all the mice in the world. When none of them had seen it, he sent Jack on to the King of the Frogs, giving him a new horse. A little mouse asked to come with him, Jack tried to refuse on the grounds of offending the king, but the mouse told him it would be better. The King of the Frogs summoned all the frogs in the world. When none of them had seen it, he sent Jack on to the King of the Birds. A little frog asked to come with him, and again Jack was persuaded. The King of the Birds summoned all the birds, and last of all, an eagle came, and told of the castle. The eagle carried him to it, and the mouse stole the box back. They quarreled as they went back, and the box fell into the sea, but the frog retrieved it. When he returned to the King of the Birds, he had the little men retrieve the castle. The men waited until everyone there but a cook and a maid had left for a dance; then they asked them whether they would rather go or stay, and when they said go, told them to run into the castle. Then Jack had them carry it to the King of the Frogs, and then next day to the King of the Mice, where he left it and rode home on his horse. There, he had the little men bring him the castle, and his wife showed him his new son.

Commentary

The offer of a big

cake Cake is a flour confection made from flour, sugar, and other ingredients, and is usually baked. In their oldest forms, cakes were modifications of bread, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or elaborate, ...

or a little is common in British fairy tales of

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

origin—''

The Red Ettin The Red Ettin or The Red Etin is a fairy tale collected by Joseph Jacobs. It was included by Andrew Lang in ''The Blue Fairy Book''. Synopsis Two widows lived in a hut, and one had two sons and the other had one—or a single widow had three son ...

'', ''

The Girl and the Dead Man The Girl and the Dead Man is a Scottish fairy tale collected by John Francis Campbell in ''Popular Tales of the West Highlands'', listing his informant as Ann Darroch, in Islay. Synopsis A poor woman's oldest daughter said she would go seek her ...

'', ''

The Adventures of Covan the Brown-haired The Adventures of Covan the Brown-haired is a Celtic fairy tale translated by Dr. Macleod Clarke. Andrew Lang included it in ''The Orange Fairy Book''. Synopsis A goat herder and his wife had three sons and a daughter. One day, the daughter va ...

'', and '' The King Of Lochlin's Three Daughters''—but this tale is unique in that the big cake is not claimed by the hero's older brothers, but by the hero himself. Even in ''

Jack and his Comrades Jack and his Comrades is a short Irish fairy tale describing the title character's story of success with the help of his animal helpers, collected by folklorist Patrick Kennedy from a resident of County Wexford, Ireland, and published in ''Le ...

'', where the hero is the only one offered it, he prefers the smaller cake and the blessing. The traditional

bannocks The Bannock tribe were originally Northern Paiute but are more culturally affiliated with the Northern Shoshone. They are in the Great Basin classification of Indigenous People. Their traditional lands include northern Nevada, southeastern Oreg ...

(breads) of the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

regions held a ritual role in the marking of the seasons. Parts of the tale also echo some parts of the

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...

story: the hero winning a bride due to the genie/little men magically creating a palace/castle, and the lamp/snuffbox being stolen and recovered.

External links

''Jack and His Golden Snuff-Box''
{{wikisource, English Fairy Tales Jack tales English fairy tales Romani fairy tales ATU 560-649 Joseph Jacobs

Plot

Commentary

See also

External links