SCOTTISH FOLKTALE ‘Three games for gold’

‘Three games for gold’

            Once upon a time, there was a young man called Jack who lived with his poor mother, on a poor farm, in a poor valley. One day, his mother grew tired of Jack’s laziness and told him to go down to the town to get a job. So, she made him some sandwiches and gave him all the money she had left to buy a suit.

            ‘Now, keep to the path and don’t take any shortcuts,’she told him as he was leaving. ‘And stay away from that pub!’ So, Jack took the long and winding path down around the woods to the town. He spent half an hour looking for a job. He passed by the pub, which they now call the ‘Feet and Hooves’ and he thought to himself, ‘Well, a quick drink will do no harm.’ So he went into the pub, and one drink led to another.

            He woke up at midnight in a field at the edge of town. All his money was gone, and he had the worst headache he could imagine. Feeling cold and sick, he decided to go home and face his angry mother. But it was such a long way home. Perhaps he would just take the shortcuts! So instead of taking the path, he followed the river through the woods. The forest got thicker and darker. Suddenly he heard music coming through the trees. It was the sound of a violin. Jack followed the sound until he came to a cave. Scared but curious, he slowly and carefully entered the cave and followed the dark tunnel feeling his way with his hands in the direction of the music.

            As the tunnel turned a corner, Jack saw a big bright bonfire ahead of him. On one side, to Jack’s delight, he saw a huge pile of gold coins. But to Jack’s horror, standing on the other side of the fire was the Devil with his hooves and his horns and his pointy tail! And that was where the music was coming from. The Devil was playing a violin!

            ‘Welcome, Jack,’ said the Devil. ‘I’ve been expecting you.’

‘Why?’ asked Jack nervously. ‘Because most lazy boys end up dancing to my music, don’t they?’ grinned the devil.. And here is my bargain. We will play three games that you choose. If you beat me at any game, this pile of gold coins is yours. But if you don’t beat me, your soul is mine!’

            ‘OK, sounds good!’ said Jack, fearing his mother even more than the Devil. ‘Name your game,’ said the Devil.

So Jack chose Poker. He played as well as he could, but the Devil had all the best cards, and Jack soon lost. ‘You have two games left,’ laughed the Devil, ‘Name your game!’

So Jack chose Dice. He played as well as he could, but the Devil kept rolling three sixes, and Jack soon lost.

            ‘You have one game left,’ laughed the Devil. ‘Name your game!’

            Jack thought quickly. He knew the Devil could beat him at any game. Then an idea came to him.

            ‘We’ll play a game called Copy-cat,’ said Jack. ‘You have to copy what I do. If you can’t, you lose.’ ‘What can you do that I can’t?’ laughed the Devil, even louder this time.    

            Jack smiled. He took off a shoe. Then he took off a sock. Then he reached his foot into the pile of gold coins. He took a coin between two of his toes and held his foot up in the air. The Devil looked down at his hooves. Jack took a step backwards, fearing for his life. But the Devil just laughed.

            ‘Well done, Jack,’ he said quietly. ‘The gold is yours’ And with that, the Devil disappeared, leaving Jack with all the gold!

            So that’s how Jack ended up returning home a rich man. His mother never did believe how he got it!