JACK SELLS THE COW
ONCE upon a time there was a poor widow who lived in a little
cottage with her only son Jack.
Jack was a giddy, thoughtless boy, but very kind-hearted and
affectionate. There had been a hard winter, and after it the poor... Read more of Jack And The Beanstalk at Children Stories.ca
Gather a quart (1 liter) of water from a spring or stream. Pour this into a large bowl, or cauldron.
Set it within a darkened chamber; by candlelight, then, take a silver knife and write with its
point upon the water's surface the name of that which afflicts you. Next soak a small lock of
lamb's wool first in a sweet-scented oil and second in some red wine. Carry it to the bowl of
water and drop it into the water saying these words:
The dark be lightened
The harsh be softened
The rank be sweetened
By the power of the knife
And by the power of the water.
Leave the wool to soak all night, until sunrise. Remove, wring out and set to dry upon a small
circle of white velvet. Empty contents of bowl into a hole in the earth. Fill the hole.
When the wool is dry, sew up the velvet and wool to form a pouch, pin this beneath clothing
for a month. Thereafter keep it safe in a drawer or other safe place, that its powers may not
be diminished through neglect.