Jack was married to the beautiful maiden who had followed him as a doe, and as she was the duke’s daughter the poor lad became very rich and powerful. He and the duke’s daughter loved each other dearly, and so they lived in great happiness all their lives, honored by everyone about them.
THE THREE WISHES
Once upon a time a poor man took his ax and went out into the forest to cut wood. He was a lazy fellow, so as soon as he was in the forest he began to look about to see which tree would be the easiest to cut down. At last he found one that was hollow inside, as he could tell by knocking upon it with his ax. “It ought not to take long to cut this down,” said he to himself. He raised his ax and struck the tree such a blow that the splinters flew.
At once the bark opened and a little old fairy with a long beard came running out of the tree.
“What do you mean by chopping into my house?” he cried; and his eyes shone like red hot sparks, he was so angry.
“I did not know it was your house,” said the man.
“Well, it is my house, and I’ll thank you to let it alone,” cried the fairy.