Jack and the Stolen Gems

This is a tale about my friend, Jack.
Some time ago, Jack and his friends, Tom and Will(who were brothers) went to take a walk around town. They were walking along, near the King`s Palace, when Jack noticed a sign on the King`s door. “Hey, fellas, look at that!” Jack said, pointing towards the door. “Let`s go see what it says.” The three boys ran over to the sign. It read: “HELP WANTED: The King was robbed last night by what he thinks was an Old Draggaman. The beast stole his precious gems. His Majesty thinks that the Draggaman lives at a hideout in the forest. If his treasures are returned, a great sum of money will be given!” Jack grinned. I`ll be straight with you-he loved money almost as much as he loved pretty girls-and he loved pretty girls. ‘A great sum of money’ sounded ever-so-pleasing to Jack. “What do you boys think ‘a that?” He asked. Will and Tom saw Jack`s coy smile, and they knew what he was thinking. But they were a bit more sensible than their friend. “Jack,” Will said, “A Draggaman is tall and big.” “Not to mention dangerous!” Tom added. Will nodded his head. “Yes, and dangerous. It`d be mighty foolish to go there, you`d jus’ be lookin’ for trouble.” Jack grimaced at them. “Ya`ll boys just don`t have any backbone. I`m going to go tell the king that he`s about to get his treasures back.” Tom sighed. “Jack-” Jack cut him off. “I won`t hear none of it. I`m goin’ to get those gems and I don`t care if you come with me or not.” Will looked at Tom, and whispered “He`s too hot-headed. You know how determined he is. It`s no use.” Tom sighed. “Well, Jack. We`re goin’ back to the farm. Hope we see you again.” With that, Jack`s brothers started on their way back to the farm. Jack shrugged. Danger was his game. He`d been into many predicaments before, he knew he could get through anything. He knocked loudly on the King`s door. The door creaked open. “Well, hello,” the King said, “what brings you here?” Jack smiled. “Mind if I come in, daddy? I`d like to discuss somethin’ with ya about your missin’ gems.” The King looked dumbfounded. “Y-you, boy?” He laughed at first, at how scrawny Jack was, but stopped laughing when he saw Jack`s serious expression. He cleared his throat. “Sure…you can come in.” “What a loon!” the King thought. They went into the King`s grand palace and sat down on two of his chairs. “Daddy,” Jack started, “I think I can get ya your gems back. I sure do!” The King was still in mild shock. “Are you sure, boy? You know what a Draggaman is, don’cha?” “Yessir.” Jack said. The King sighed, exasperated. “You really sure, boy? I mean, you`re so…well…” Jack smiled at him. “Just believe in me, daddy. I`ve done this kind of thing, before.” The King laughed, but this time, not a taunting laugh, but a hardy laugh. “Well, if you think that you really can..well, I can`t say no, can I? After all, you`re the first person who`s come here,” “I guess because everyone else is afraid,” the King thought. He continued, “Boy, I`ll be expectin’ you back, soon.” “Sure thing, daddy. You`ll be seein’ me real soon!” Jack turned to leave. “Wait a moment, boy. What is your name?” “Jack, sir.” The King nodded. “Ah, yes. Well I wish you the best of luck, Jack.” Jack nodded back at him. “Yes sir,” and he was off. “I don`t think he can do it, actually,” the King thought to himself, “he`s just a mere boy, after all. I`m not expecting him to come back alive, that`s for sure!” The King laughed to himself, and went to shut the doors of his palace.

Jack hummed to himself as he walked: “Hmm-hmm-hmm-mm-hmm-hmm.” He was almost to the forest. Rumor has it that most Draggamans liked to live near a part of the forest with the most trees, so Jack decided to go towards that area. “That King made me mad,” Jack thought, “he doesn`t think that I can do it. Well, I`ll show him, he needs to believe in me!” Jack walked and walked, until it had almost been an hour. “Here it is,” Jack said to himself, “the place where all the trees are.” Jack thought about how to lure the Draggaman out of the hideout, so that he could find where the gems were. “HEY, OLD DRAGGAMAN,” he yelled, “WHERE ARE YOU? I`VE COME TO TALK TO YOU!” Jack gulped as he saw a large figure come out from inside a very large tree. “Who dares to wake me up at this hour?!” A large voice boomed. Jack watched in awe as he saw the Old Draggaman. It was twenty times the size of a regular man, and if any person with any sense saw him, they`d run away as fast as they could. But Jack didn`t have much sense. “Down here, daddy!” He said. The Old Draggaman stooped down. “Who are you, and what do you want?” His voice was so loud it nearly shook the earth. Jack had to think of something quick, something that would distract the Draggaman long enough so that Jack could look in his hideout. “Well, daddy,” Jack started, “My name`s Jack. I was wonderin’, are you a married man?” The Draggaman looked confused. “No, sir. What of it?” “Well,” Jack said, making everything up as he went along, “I saw…I saw this beautiful…erm…Draggaman woman at the entrance of the forest. She says she`s lookin’ for a strong, handsome…er…man…to marry. And I ain`t lyin’ to you, daddy, you look like a strong, handsome man!” Jack thought story was great. Apparently, so did the Draggaman. “Really, now? I`ll just go up there and look for her, myself. Thanks, Jack.” “ Quick wits always win in the long run!” Jack thought and smiled. “Sure, Daddy. Anytime.” The Draggaman ran towards the forest entrance, making Jack nearly fall over as the earth shook. Finally Jack could go into the Draggaman`s hideout!

Jack figured he had about thirty minutes before the Draggaman realized that he`d just made up the story, so Jack decided that he must be quick. He ran towards the tree where the Draggaman came out, and saw that there was a hole the size of a house for the Draggaman to come in and out of. “Whew-wee! This man sure is big!” Jack said, as he stepped inside. It was a little dark, but light enough for Jack to see. He immediately knew that he was the only thing in that hideout. He looked around. The hideout was a lot smaller than Jack had thought-it was only the size of a regular house. “Now, where could the gems be?” Jack thought. Jack looked around and around, until finally he saw a big chest. Jack smiled to himself. “I bet that`s where the King`s stolen treasures are!” He was right. He opened that chest and saw shiny gems of all color, sparkling brightly even in the darkness. Jack was a strong man, despite how he looked, and he was able to pick up the heavy chest. He knew that the Draggaman would be coming back soon, so he quickly exited the hideout and took a different route out of the forest. He had done it!

Jack had a coy smile on his face as he set the chest down and knocked on the King`s door. It opened. “He-”, he started, “J-Jack?! You`re alive? And…are those my…?” Jack smiled at the King. “Yessir, they are your stolen gems. I told you to believe in me, didn`t I? Now, I believe you owe me some money!” The King was so shocked and overjoyed that he went inside his palace and came out with both a huge sack of money and a beautiful girl. “Jack, I`m so grateful to you! You can have the money, and you can even marry my daughter!”

Jack and the King`s daughter had a beautiful wedding, which Jack paid for with his reward. Even though they had the grandest wedding, he still had lots of money left over. The couple even bought a nice cabin to live in.The last time I saw him, Jack was doing really well.