Jack the Dullard Page #2

"Jack the Dullard" is a classic fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a simple-minded boy named Jack who outsmarts his two clever brothers and wins the hand of the princess. His adventures include bewildering the king with his nonsensical answers, and illustrating that wisdom can come in many forms. It's a playful, heartwarming story that conveys the message that intelligence and learning can be embodied in many ways, not just through traditional schooling or conventional wisdom.

• Children

								


"Ah, that's lucky!" exclaimed Jack the Dullard, "for I suppose
you'll let me roast my crow at the same time?"

"With the greatest pleasure," said the Princess. "But have you
anything you can roast it in? for I have neither pot nor pan."

"Certainly I have!" said Jack. "Here's a cooking utensil with a
tin handle."

And he brought out the old wooden shoe, and put the crow into it.

"Well, that is a famous dish!" said the Princess. "But what
shall we do for sauce?"

"Oh, I have that in my pocket," said Jack; "I have so much of it
that I can afford to throw some away;" and he poured some of the
clay out of his pocket.

"I like that!" said the Princess. "You can give an answer, and you
have something to say for yourself, and so you shall be my husband.
But are you aware that every word we speak is being taken down, and
will be published in the paper to-morrow? Look yonder, and you will
see in every window three clerks and a head clerk; and the old head
clerk is the worst of all, for he can't understand anything."

But she only said this to frighten Jack the Dullard; and the
clerks gave a great crow of delight, and each one spurted a blot out
of his pen on to the floor.

"Oh, those are the gentlemen, are they?" said Jack; "then I will
give the best I have to the head clerk." And he turned out his
pockets, and flung the wet clay full in the head clerk's face.

"That was very cleverly done," observed the Princess. "I could not
have done that; but I shall learn in time."

And accordingly Jack the Dullard was made a king, and received a
crown and a wife, and sat upon a throne. And this report we have wet
from the press of the head clerk and the corporation of printers--but
they are not to be depended upon in the least.
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