ONCE upon a time there was 1 a boy whose name was Jack. One day Jack set out 2 to seek his fortune.
He hadn't gone very far when he met a cat.
"Good morning, Jack," said the cat. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to seek my fortune," said Jack.
"May I go with you?"
"Yes, if you like."
So Jack and the cat went on.
They hadn't gone very far when they met a dog.
"Oh, good morning, Jack," said the dog. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to seek my fortune," said Jack.
"May I go too?"
"Yes, certainly."
So Jack and the cat and the dog went on.
They hadn't gone very much farther when they met a cow.
"Hello, Jack," said the cow. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to seek my fortune."
"May I go with you?"
"Certainly, you may."
So Jack and the cat and the dog and the cow went on.
They hadn't gone very far when they met a goat.
"Good morning, Jack," said the goat. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to seek my fortune."
"May I go too?"
"Yes, if you like."
So Jack and the cat and the dog and the cow and the goat went on.
They hadn't gone much farther when they met a cock.
"Good morning, Jack," said the cock. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to seek my fortune."
"May I go with you?"
"Certainly," said Jack.
So Jack and the cat and the dog and the cow and the goat and the cock went on.
They walked and they walked until it got dark, but they couldn't find a place to spend the night. At last they came to a house. Jack told his friends not to talk or to make a noise while he peeped through the window. And do you know what he saw in that house? Some men round a table, and they were counting their money!
"Robbers," said Jack to his friends. "Now, when I say 'Go!' make as much noise as you can, and we'll frighten them away." So in a minute Jack said, "Go!" And the cat mewed, "Miaow, miaow," and the dog barked, "Woof! Woof!" And the cow mooed, "Moooo, moooo," and the goat bleated, "Me-e-e, me-e-e." And the cock crowed, "Cock-a-doodle-doo! Cock-a-doodle-doo!" And they all together made such a dreadful noise that it frightened the robbers and they all ran away.
Then Jack and his friends went inside the house to have a good sleep. The cat lay down on the rocking-chair, and the dog lay under the table, and the goat lay down at the top of the stairs, and the cow went into the cellar where it was nice and cool, and the cock settled down on the roof, and 'Jack blew out the lamp 3 and went to bed.
Now the house was dark and in a little while 4 everything was quiet. Then the robbers decided to return to their house. So they told one man to go back and see if everything was all right.
He went on tiptoe 5 to the house, as quietly as he could. But soon he came running back, all out of breath 6 and very frightened. "Don't send me there again!" he said. "It's a dreadful place! I tried to sit down in the rocking-chair, but an old woman stuck her knitting-needles into me." 7 (That wasn't an old woman. That was the cat!) "And I went to the table and looked under it, and there was an old man under the table, and he stuck his pincers into me." (That wasn't an old man with pincers under the table. That was the dog!) "And I went up the stairs and an old woman with a sweeping-brush knocked me right down again." (Oh, the silly! That was the goat!) "Then I ran down to the cellar, but there was a man there chopping wood, and he hit me on the head with his axe." (That wasn't a man with an axe. That was the cow!) "But the worst one of all," said the robber, "was on the roof. There was a dreadful little old man up there who shouted, 'Throw him up to me! Throw him up to me!'" (The silly! That was the cock!) "I didn't want to be thrown up to him 8, so I ran right out of the house! And I'll never go there again!"
So the robbers never went there again. And Jack and his friends stayed in the house as long as they liked.
1 Once upon a time there was — Жил-был (начало сказок)
2 Jack set out — Джек отправился
3 blew out the lamp — потушил (задул) лампу
4 in a little while — через некоторое время
5 on tiptoe — на цыпочках
6 all out of breath — запыхавшись
7 stuck her knitting-needles into me — вонзила в меня вязальные спицы
8 to be thrown up to him — чтобы меня ему бросили
