Jack in the Giants' Newground!
Part II.
Hack! Hack! Hack!
Heard a racket directly, sounded like a horse comin' up through the
bresh. Jack looked down the holler, saw a man about thirty foot high comin'
a-stompin' up the mountain, steppin' right over the laurel bushes and the
rock-cliffs. Jack was so scared he like to slipped his hold. The old giant
came on up, looked around till he fin'ly saw where Jack was settin', came
over there under him, says, "Hello, stranger."
"Howdy do, daddy."
"What in the world you a-doin' up there?"
"I'm a-clearin' newground for that man lives back down yonder."
"Clearin' land? Well, I never seen such a fool business, start in clearin'
newground in the top of a tree! Ain't ye got no sense?"
"Why, that's allus the way we start in clearin' back home."
"What's your name, son?"
"My name's Jack."
"Well, you look-a-here, Jack. This patch of land is ours and we don't
aim to have it cleared. We done told the King so."
"Oh, well, then," says Jack, "I didn't know that. If I'd 'a knowed that
I'd 'a not started."
"Come on down, Jack. I'll take ye home for supper." Didn't think Jack
'uld know what he meant. Jack hollered back, says, "All right, daddy. I'll
be right down."
Jack cloomb down a ways, got on a limb right over the old giant's head,
started in talkie' to him, says, "Daddy, they tell me giants are awful
stout. Is that so?"
"Well, some," says the old giant. "I can carry a thousand men before
me."
"Well, now, daddy, I bet I can do somethin' you can't do."
"What's that, Jack?"
"Squeeze milk out'n a flint rock."
"I don't believe ye."
"You throw me up a flint rock here and I'll show ye."
So while the old giant hunted him up a flint rock, jack took his knife
and punched a little hole in that old leather apron. The giant chunked
the rock up to him and Jack squeezed down on it, pushed up against his
apron, and the milk commenced to dreen out...
Dreep, dreep, dreep
"Do it again, Jack!"
So Jack pushed right hrad that time, and hit just went like milkin'
a cow.
The old giant hollered up to Jack, says, "Throw me down that rock."
He took the roak and squeezed and squeezed till fin'ly he got so mad
he mashed down on it and they tell me he crumbled that flint rock plumb
to powder.
The Jack hollered down to him again, says, "I can do somethin' else
you can't do."
"What's that, Jack?"
"I can cut myself myself wide open and sew it back up. ANd it won't
hurt me none."
"Aw shucks, Jack. I know you're lyin' now."
"You want to see me do it?"
"Go ahead."
Jack took his knife and ripped open that leather apron, took a piece
of string he had, punched some holes, and sewed it back up, says, "See,
daddy? I'm just as good as I ever was."
Well, the old giant just couldn't stand to let Jack out-do him, so he
hollered up, says, "Hand here the knife, Jack."
Took Jack's knife and cut himself wide open, staggered around a little
and fin'ly queried over on the ground dead. Well, Jack, he scaled down
the tree and cut off the old giant's heads with that little Tommy hatchet,
took 'em on back to the King's house.
The King paid Jack two thousand dollars like he said he would. Jack
eat him a big supper and stayed the night. Next mornin', after he eat his
breakfast, Jack told the King he reckoned he'd have to be a-gettin' on
back home. Said his daddy would be a-needin' him settin' out tobacco.
But the King says, "Oh, no, Jack. Why, you're the best giant-killer
I ever hired. There's some more of that giant gang yet, and I'd like awful
well to get shet of the whole crowd of 'em."
Jack didn't want to do it. He figgered he'd done made him enough money
to last him awhile, and he didn't want to get mixed up with them giants
any more'n he could help. But the King kept on after him till Jack saw
he couldn't get out of it very handy. So he went and got the Tommy hatchet,
started on up to the newground again.
Jack hadn't hardly got up there that time 'fore he heard somethin' comin'
up the holler stompin' and breakin' bresh, makin' the awfulest racket.
He started to climb him a tree like he done before, but the racket was
gettin' closer and closer, and Jack looked and saw it was them twin giants
that had three heads a-piece. Jack looked up, saw them six heads a-comin'
over the tree tops, says, "Law me ! I can't stand that ! I'll hide !"
He saw a big holler log down the hill a ways, grabbed him up a shirt-tail
full of rocks and shot in that log like a ground squirrel. Hit was pretty
big inside there. Jack could turn right around in it. The old giants finely
got there. Jack heard one of 'em say to the other'n, "Law! Look a yonder!
Somebody's done killed brother."
"Law, yes! Now, who you reckon could 'a done that? Why, he could 'a
carried a thousand Englishmen before him, single-handed. I didn't hear
no racket up here yesterday, did you?"
"Why, no, and the ground ain't trampled none, neither. Who in the world
you reckon could 'a done it?"
Well, they mourned over him awhile, then they 'lowed they'd have to
take him on down and fix up a buryin'. So they got hold on him, one by
the hands and the other by the feet, started on down.
"Poor brother!" says one of 'em. "If we knowed who it was killed him,
we'd sure fix them!"
The other'n stopped all at once, says, "Hold on a minute. There ain't
a stick of wood to the house. Mother sent us up here after wood; we sure
better not forget that. We'll have to have plenty of wood too, settin'
up with brother tonight."
"We better get about the handiest thing we can find," says the other'n.
"Look yonder at that holler log. Suppose'n we take that down."
Well, they laid the old dead giant down across the top of that log and
shouldered it up. Jack got shook around right considerable inside the log,
but after he got settled again, he looked and saw the old giant in front
had the log restin' right betwixt his shoulders. And directly Jack happened
to recollect he had all them rocks. So after they'd done gone down the
holler a little piece, Jack he picked him out a rock and cut-drive at the
giant in front fumped him right in the back of the head. Old giant stumbled,
and stopped and hollered back at his brother, says, "You look-a-here !
What you a-throwin' rocks at me for?"
"I never so thronged no rocks at you."
"You did so! You nearly knocked me down!"
"Why, I never done it!"
They argued awhile, fin'ly started on down again. Jack waited a minute
or two, then he cut loose with another goodffized rock.
Wham!
"You con-founded thing! You've done hit me again!"
"I never done no such a thing!"
"You did too!"
"I never teched ye!"
"You're the very one. You needn't try to lie out of it neither. You
can see as good as I can there ain't nobody else around here to throw no
rocks. You just hit me one other time now, and I'll come back there and
smack the fire out-a you!"
They jawed and cussed a right smart while till fin'ly they quit and
got started on down again.nbsp;
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