JACK THE DULLARD

Jack the Dullard is a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen, published in 1855 under the Danish title Klods-Hans and also known in English as Blockhead Hans or Clumsy Hans. The story concerns the three sons of an old country gentleman. The two elder brothers consider themselves learned: one has memorized the entire Latin dictionary and years of newspapers, while the other is well versed in law and municipal affairs and can even embroider flowers on his trouser straps. Both are confident that their eloquence will win the princess, who has announced that she will marry the man best able to express himself. Their father gives each of the two elder brothers a horse, while the youngest, Hans, regarded by the whole family as a dullard, must set out on a billy goat. Along the way Hans picks up a dead crow, a worn-out old wooden shoe, and a pocketful of wet mud from a ditch, declaring them gifts for the princess, to the amusement of his brothers. At the palace, where the stove is heated to a fierce temperature, suitor after suitor is struck dumb and driven out by the princess. When Hans's turn comes, he picks up her teasing remark about a roasted pullet and runs with it, producing the crow, the old wooden shoe, and the mud as his cooking implements and broth, answering with such ease that he makes the princess laugh, wins her hand, and becomes king. Built on the folk-tale pattern of the fool who triumphs, the story mocks pompous learning and empty rhetoric while celebrating quick-witted, down-to-earth humor. This edition presents the tale as a standalone English-language volume.