September 30. Story of the Day: Jack Will Not Mow the Oats

I found this chain tale in The Passover Song of the Kid and an Equivalent from New England by William Wells Newell.

It is an example of ATU 2030 The old woman and her pig.

Looking for more stories? Click here for previous Stories-of-the-Day.

JACK WILL NOT MOW OATS

(Mowers by Pekka Halonen)

The farmer sends Jack to mow oats.
Jack will not mow oats, would rather stay at home.

The farmer sends his man to fetch Jack.
The man will not fetch Jack, Jack will not mow oats, would rather stay home.

The farmer sends his dog to bite man.
The dog will not bite man, the man will not fetch Jack, Jack will not mow oats, would rather stay home.

The farmer sends the stick to beat dog.
The stick will not beat dog, the dog will not bite man, the man will not fetch Jack, Jack will not mow oats, would rather stay home.

The farmer sends the fire to burn stick.
The fire will not burn stick, the stick will not beat dog, the dog will not bite man, the man will not fetch Jack, Jack will not mow oats, would rather stay home.

The farmer sends the water to quench fire.
The water will not quench fire, the fire will not burn stick, the stick will not beat dog, the dog will not bite man, the man will not fetch Jack, Jack will not mow oats, would rather stay home.

The farmer sends his ox to drink water.
The ox will not drink water, water will not quench fire, the fire will not burn stick, the stick will not beat dog, the dog will not bite man, the man will not fetch Jack, Jack will not mow oats, would rather stay home.

The farmer sends the butcher to kill ox.
The butcher will not kill ox, ox will not drink water, water will not quench fire, the fire will not burn stick, the stick will not beat dog, the dog will not bite man, the man will not fetch Jack, Jack will not mow oats, would rather stay home.

The farmer sends the vulture to carry off butcher.
The vulture will not carry off butcher, the butcher will not kill ox, ox will not drink water, water will not quench fire, the fire will not burn stick, the stick will not beat dog, the dog will not bite man, the man will not fetch Jack, Jack will not mow oats, would rather stay home.

The farmer sends the witch to enchant vulture.
The witch will not enchant vulture, the vulture will not carry off butcher, the butcher will not kill ox, ox will not drink water, water will not quench fire, the fire will not burn stick, the stick will not beat dog, the dog will not bite man, the man will not fetch Jack, Jack will not mow oats, would rather stay home.

The farmer sends the hangman to burn witch.
The hangman will not burn witch, the witch will not enchant vulture, the vulture will not carry off butcher, the butcher will not kill ox, ox will not drink water, water will not quench fire, the fire will not burn stick, the stick will not beat dog, the dog will not bite man, the man will not fetch Jack, Jack will not mow oats, would rather stay home.

Finally, the farmer sends the doctor to kill the hangman.

   So the hangman says,
Rather than be killed, I will burn witch;
   The witch says,
Rather than be burned I will enchant vulture;
   The vulture says,
Rather than be enchanted, I will carry off butcher;
   The butcher says,
Rather than be carried off, I will kill ox;
   The ox says,
Rather than be killed, I will drink water;
   The water says,
Rather than be drunk, I will quench fire;
   The fire says,
Rather than be quenched, I will burn stick;
   The stick says,
Rather than be burned, I will beat dog;
   The dogs says,
Rather than be beat, I will bite man;
   The man says,
Rather than be beat, I will fetch Jack,
   And Jack says,
Rather than be fetched I will mow oats.


NOTES

The very numerous German versions exhibit several types. A common form is that in which a farmer sends his servant Jack to perform some agricultural labor, and Jack refuses. The German begins: Der bauer schickt den Jackel naus...

July 1. Story of the Day: Kid Do Go

This item comes from The Passover Song of the Kid and an Equivalent from New England by William Wells Newell (and for the Passover song referred to in the title, see this post: Chad Gadya - One Goat).

This is another example of ATU 2030. The Old Woman and her Pig, with a stubborn little goat instead of a pig. Newell details his source in the note below, dating back to around the year 1800 (or older, of course).

For audio, see the bottom of the post, and for more stories, here are the previous Stories-of-the-Day.

KID DO GO

Old London Bridge in 1745 by J.J. Dodd

As I was going over London Bridge,
I found a penny ha'penny, and bought me a kid.
Kid, do go.
Know by the moonlight it's almost midnight,
Time kid and I were home an hour and a half ago.

Went a little further, and found a stick.
Stick, do beat kid,
Kid won't go.
Know by the moonlight it's almost midnight,
Time kid and I were home an hour and a half ago.

Went a little further, and found fire.
Fire, do burn stick,
Stick won't beat kid,
Kid won't go.
Know by the moonlight it's almost midnight,
Time kid and I were home an hour and a half ago.

Went a little further, and found water.
Water, do quench fire,
Fire won't burn stick,
Stick won't beat kid,
Kid won't go.
Know by the moonlight it's almost midnight,
Time kid and I were home an hour and a half ago.

Went a little further, and found ox.
Ox, do drink water,
Water won't quench fire,
Fire won't burn stick,
Stick won't beat kid,
Kid won't go.
Know by the moonlight it's almost midnight,
Time kid and I were home an hour and a half ago.

Went a little further, and found butcher.
Butcher, do kill ox,
Ox won't drink water,
Water won't quench fire,
Fire won't burn stick,
Stick won't beat kid,
Kid won't go.
Know by the moonlight it's almost midnight,
Time kid and I were home an hour and a half ago.

Went a little further, and found rope.
Rope, do hang butcher,
Butcher won't kill ox,
Ox won't drink water,
Water won't quench fire,
Fire won't burn stick,
Stick won't beat kid,
Kid won't go.
Know by the moonlight it's almost midnight,
Time kid and I were home an hour and a half ago.

Rope began to hang butcher,
Butcher began to kill ox,
Ox began to drink water,
Water began to quench fire,
Fire began to burn stick,
Stick began to beat kid,
Kid began to go.
Know by the moonlight it's almost midnight,
Time kid and I were home an hour and a half ago.

NOTES

I now print for the first time a version obtained by myself, many years ago, from the recitation of Miss Lydia R. Nichols of Salem, Mass., at the time aged 88 years, who retained the words as a reminiscence of her earliest infancy; the date of the rhyme therefore goes back to about 1800.

~ ~ ~

Here's an audio recording by yours truly :-)