Jack had served his master well for seven long years without having been paid a penny. At the end of that time Jack went to him and said, “Master, I have been with you seven years, and now it is time for me to go home to see my mother. But oughtn’t I to be paid something first?”

“Yes,” said his master, “you have served me well, and you shall be well paid in return.”

He then brought out a lump of gold as big as Jack’s head and gave it to the lad.

Jack thanked him and wrapped the gold up in a handkerchief and tied the corners together, so he could carry it. Then he said good-by to his master, and off he set, whistling merrily. But the way was long and the sun was hot. The further Jack went the wearier he grew, and the gold weighed as heavy as lead. He shifted it from hand to hand, but every moment it became a heavier burden.

After awhile Jack met a man riding merrily along on a fine horse.

“That is a fine nag you are riding,” said Jack.

“Yes, it is,” answered the man.

“Well, you are a lucky fellow,” said Jack. “There you ride along as light as a bird, and I have to trudge in the dust and carry a lump of gold that weighs like lead.”

“Is that gold you have tied up there?” asked the man.

“Yes, it is.”

“I would like to see a lump of gold as big as that.”

Jack untied the handkerchief and showed the gold to the man. When the man saw it his eyes glittered and his mouth worked.

“Listen,” said he to Jack, “I am a good-natured sort of a fellow. I am almost home and you have still a long way to go. Give me the gold and you shall have my horse in exchange, and then you can ride along as proud as a king, and I will do the trudging.”

That seemed to Jack a fine bargain. He thanked the man and gave him the gold, and then he mounted the horse. The man put a switch in his hand and said, “If he does not go along fast enough just touch him with this and he will go faster.” Then he tied up the gold in a great hurry, and made off with it.

As for Jack he rode along holding his head high and glancing about him. “How proud mother will be to see me come riding up to the door like a nobleman,” thought he. “How much better to ride with my head in the air than to trudge along in the dust.”

After awhile Jack thought he would like to go faster, and he gave the horse a cut with the switch. But the nag was a lively one. When it felt the switch it kicked up its heels, and away it went, jolting and bumping. Jack held on as long as he could, and then he fell off into a ditch full of stinging nettles. Luckily a man passing by stopped the horse and brought it back to him. The man was leading a cow by a rope.

“That was a nasty fall you had,” said he.

“Yes,” answered Jack. “Now I see that a horse is a tricky animal. A man gave him to me for a lump of gold I was carrying, and he seemed quiet enough then.”

“A lump of gold?” asked the man.

“Yes, a lump of gold. How lucky you are to have a nice quiet animal like the cow to give you good milk and butter and cheese, instead of a horse that runs away and throws you off.”

“Yes, I am lucky,” said the man. Then he thought a bit. “Listen,” said he. “I have had so much butter and cheese and cream that I am tired of them. If you like you shall have my cow and I will take your horse, and you will have the best of the bargain.”

“That I will,” cried Jack joyfully, “and I thank you kindly for speaking of it.” He then gave the horse to the man, and the man gave him the cow. Then the man sprang upon the horse and away he rode in haste without once turning to look behind him.

Jack led the cow along by the rope, and his heart was light if his heels were not. “Now I can live like a king,” said he. “When I am thirsty all I have to do is to milk the cow and have a drink of fine fresh milk; and when I have a piece of bread—it is easy enough to get a piece of bread—I can always have some butter with it, or a tasty bit of cheese.”

The sun was high in the sky by now, and it shone so hot that Jack’s mouth grew as dry as a nutmeg grater. “Now is the time for a glass of milk,” said he. He tied the cow to a post, and then he sat down and tried to milk her; but he had never learned how to milk, and not a drop could he get. Moreover he was so awkward about it that at last the cow gave him a kick that sent him head over heels across the road. Jack got up and rubbed his head. “That is a very dangerous animal,” said he, “or else she does not like me.”

Just then a butcher came by, wheeling a fine little pig in a barrow, and he stopped to speak with Jack. “What ails you,” said he, “that you look so sad and down in the mouth?”

“Oh,” said Jack, “my cow has kicked me and will not give me a drop of milk,” and he told the butcher the whole story, how he had exchanged the gold for a horse, and the horse for a cow.

“You made a bad bargain,” said the butcher. “That cow is old and will never give milk. There is nothing to do with her but to knock her on the head and use her for beef.”

“How could I do that?” asked Jack. “And besides I do not like beef. If she were only a fine little pig, now! There is nothing I love better than a tender juicy bit of pork.”

“Well, there now!” said the butcher. “I am too kind-hearted for my own good, but if you like I will take the cow and you shall have my pig in exchange.”

Jack was delighted. He thanked the butcher and took the pig in exchange for his cow, and off he set, wheeling the pig before him, and he was as happy as a lark.

After awhile he met a young man who carried a fine fat white goose under his arm. Jack had known the youth before, and they stopped to talk. Jack told him all about his adventures, and what fine bargains he had made.

“Yes, that is well,” said the youth. Then he showed Jack his goose, and made him weigh it by the wings and feel how fat it was, and how soft were its feathers.

“It is a fine fowl,” said Jack. “But after all it is not as fine a creature as my fat pig, and it will not taste as good when it is eaten, either.”

The youth looked the pig all over, and scratched his head. “I do not know about that pig,” said he. “A man just over there beyond the hill had his pig stolen two days ago. I misdoubt me but what this may be the very one. I only hope you may not get taken up and put in prison for having it.”

“In prison,” cried Jack in alarm. “But I cannot go to prison. My mother is looking for me home, and it would break her heart if I did not come.”

“I will tell you,” said the youth; “I know the ways about here better than you do. If you like I will take the pig and give you my goose in exchange. I may suffer for it, but if anyone is taken to prison at least it will not be you.”

Jack thanked him with tears in his eyes. He gave him the pig and took the goose and went on his way rejoicing. “After all,” thought he, “I would rather have a goose than a pig. Not only is it good to eat, but it may lay me a fine big egg, and its feathers will do to make a soft pillow for mother to lay her head on.”

So thinking he trudged along with the goose under his arm, and after awhile he came to a village, and there was a knife-grinder turning his wheel and sharpening knives and scissors for people.

He worked so quickly and sang so merrily as he worked that Jack stopped to watch him.

“That is a fine trade of yours—that of a knife-grinder,” said Jack.

“Yes, it is,” answered the man. “People are glad to see me come, and they save their knives and scissors for me to sharpen. I always can earn a bit of money, and when I am tired of one place I take my wheel and go on to the next. But that is a fine goose you have. Where did you buy it?”

“I did not buy it, I got it in exchange for a pig.”

“And where did you get the pig?”

“Oh, I took it in exchange for a cow.”

“Where did you get the cow?”

“I got it in exchange for a horse.”

“Where did you get the horse?”

“I bought it for a lump of gold as big as my head.”

“Where did you get the gold?”

“My master gave it to me in payment for seven years’ service, but the gold was too heavy, and the horse ran away, and the cow would give no milk, and the pig had been stolen, but this is a very fine goose, so you see I have been lucky in the end.”

“That you have,” said the knife-grinder. “But after all I would rather own this grindstone of mine than the very finest, fattest goose. The goose is eaten and that is the end of it, but this grindstone always earns me a bit of money to jingle in my pocket.”

“Yes, that is true,” said Jack. “I wish I had a grindstone.”

The knife-grinder looked thoughtful. “It might be managed,” said he. “I have another grindstone that is a bit damaged, but works all right. If you like you can have it in exchange for your goose, and once you have a grindstone the rest of the business is easy enough.”

“I am in luck indeed,” said Jack. “I have only to wish for a thing and I get it. Here, take the goose, and give me the grindstone.”

The man gave Jack an old cracked grindstone. Then he picked up a heavy stone that lay by the roadside. “Take this with you, too,” he said. “It will be useful to you if you ever have a crooked nail to straighten. Then you will only have to lay it on the grindstone and beat it with this rock, and you can straighten it out in no time.”

“Yes, that will be a fine thing,” said Jack, and he took the grindstone and the rock and thanked the man and went on his way.

But the road was rough and the sun was hot, and before long Jack was so weary with the weight he carried that he could hardly drag one foot after another, and the sweat poured down from his forehead.

After awhile he came to a place where a well of water bubbled up clear and fresh and cool. Jack put his stones down on the edge of it and stooped over to drink, but as he rose up again he happened to give the stones a push, and plunk! they both fell into the well and sank to the bottom.

“Now thanks be to heaven!” cried Jack. “If I had had to carry those stones much farther my back would surely have broken. Oh, what a lucky fellow I am! Everything I touch turns to luck.”

Then he started off with a light heart and light heels, and it did not take him long to reach his mother’s house.