Once, long ago in England, there lived a boy called Jack and his old, widowed mother. They were very poor. The old woman worked hard all day spinning and weaving and somehow managed to earn a few coins to feed herself and Jack.  Jack, though a strong and healthy boy, was too lazy to do anything. In summer, he would find a warm sunny spot on the hillside and spend all his time day dreaming; in winter he would spend his days huddled by the small fire in their cottage.

One day his mother, who was feeling more tired than usual that day, said to him, ‘Jack, get up. Go out and find some work, and don’t come back unless you have earned your evening meal.’

Jack looked at his mother in surprise, but shrugged his shoulders good-naturedly and went off to find some work. He managed to hire himself for the day to a farmer. Jack worked hard all day long, and in the evening, when it was time to go home, the farmer gave him his wages – a big, round, shiny penny. Jack took the penny, and with the coin clutched in his hand, set off happily for home.  On the way he had to cross a brook, and as he hopped and skipped across the stream the penny dropped from his hand into the water.  When he reached home he told his mother what had happened.

‘Oh you silly boy,’ cried his mother. ‘You should have put the penny in your pocket. That way you would not have dropped it.’

‘Next time that is what I will do,’ replied Jack.

The next day Jack set off again in search of work, and hired himself for the day to a dairy farmer. At the end of the day the dairy farmer paid him his wages – a jar of warm fresh cow’s milk. Jack, remembering what his mother had said the previous day, carefully put the jar of milk in his pocket. Of course, he had spilled the milk long before he reached him.

‘You should have carried the jar on your head,’ cried his mother. ‘That way you would not have spilled it.’

‘Next time,’ replied Jack.

The next day Jack hired himself for the day to a farmer once again. At the end of the day, the farmer paid Jack with a large slice of fresh cream cheese. Jack thanked the farmer and set off for home, taking care to balance the cheese carefully on his head. Of course, by the time he reached home the cheese had spoiled completely – it had melted and run into his hair!!

‘You stupid boy!’ cried his mother in despair. ‘You should have carried the cheese in your hands!’

‘Next time,’ replied Jack, and went off sadly to wash the cheese out of his hair.

The following day dawned bright and clear, and Jack set off once more to find work. This time he hired himself for the day to a baker, who gave him a large tom cat as his wages. Jack set off for home, holding the cat carefully in his hands. But the cat didn’t like that, and scratched him so severely that he had to let it go.

‘You should have tied it with a string and dragged it along after you,’ said his mother.

‘Next time,’ said Jack.

The next day Jack went out again and found work for the day with a butcher, who paid him generously with a large shoulder of mutton. Jack tied the mutton carefully with a string, and dragged it along after him all the way home. Of course, by the time he reached home, the meat was completely ruined.

His mother looked at him sadly. ‘You should have carried it on your shoulder,’ she wept, holding her head in her hands.

Jack patted his mother soothingly on her shoulder and replied, ‘Don’t cry mother, next time I will remember to carry it on my shoulders.’

The following day Jack hired himself to a cattle-keeper, who gave him a donkey as his wages. Jack remembered what his mother had told him, and being a strong boy, hoisted the donkey on to his shoulders and set off for home, whistling cheerfully. This time he was sure he had got it right, and he smiled happily to himself thinking of the joy on his mother’s face when he got home with the donkey.

Now, along the path that led Jack home, there lived a rich man with his only daughter. The rich man’s daughter was deaf and dumb. She had never laughed in her life, and the doctors had declared that she could not be cured unless she laughed. The rich man had tried everything to make her laugh – he had called upon the most famous jesters and clowns of the day and promised them handsome rewards – but no one and nothing had made her laugh. At last, in despair, he had declared that he would give half his fortune and his daughter in marriage to any man who made her laugh. Many had tried but none had succeeded.

That evening, as Jack passed by, the rich man’s daughter was standing at her window. She stared in surprise Jack – was that really a donkey he had on his back? As he came closer, she saw that he did indeed, and the sight of the poor animal on the young man’s back, its legs flailing helplessly in the air, struck her as so comical that she burst out laughing, and instantly became able to speak and hear.

The rich man, overjoyed that his daughter was well again, kept his promise and married her to Jack. So Jack became a rich man himself and lived in a large house with his wife. He brought his mother to live with them, and she spent the rest of her days in comfort and ease.

This retelling is based on the story of Lazy Jack recorded by Joseph Jacobs in his collection English Fairy Tales (1890).