The Three Treasures of Jeremiah

There was once, a long time ago, a poor peasant lad called Jeremiah Hughes who was very much in love with the beautiful daughter of a rich lord but she would not marry him because he had no money.

One night however, when the moon was full and bright, as he was riding home from her house, he saw, on the other side of a river, over which ran an old stone bridge, a large old mansion appear.

Curious to see what was inside that mysterious mansion, Jeremiah rode across the bridge and went inside the great house.

It was very dark and eery inside; the only light coming from ghostly candles on the walls and, as he explored the house, he passed by many rooms in which ghosts were lying, fast asleep but then he came to a room in which he saw three treasures; one was a trunk of endless gold, another was a magic bow that could hit anything and the third was a magical salve that could cure or heal anything.

Because Jeremiah could not carry all three treasures, he picked up only the trunk of endless gold and started to make off with it.

But, as he was leaving the haunted mansion he heard the sound of all the ghosts in all the rooms waking up.

“Someone is in our house and is stealing our treasure”, he heard one of the ghosts say.

And, before he knew it, all the ghosts in the haunted mansion were chasing after him.

He got on his horse but then they all mounted ghostly horses and were blaring strange, wailing hunting horns.

Desperately, he dug in his spurs and made for the bridge, remembering that ghosts could not cross running water and, thankfully, when he had gotten across the bridge, the ghosts gave up their chase.

Happily, he took the trunk of endless gold back to the woman he loved and she agreed to marry him but her father did not like Jeremiah and wouldn’t give his consent to their marriage.

Plucking a grey hair from his long grey beard, the father said, “When you can hit a hair from my beard with a bow and arrow then you may marry my daughter”.

Jeremiah was despondent at first upon hearing this but then he remembered the haunted mansion and the two treasures still left in it, the bow that could hit anything and the salve that could cure or heal anything.

“With that bow”, he thought, “I’d be able to hit a hair from that old goats beard”.

And so, that night, when the moon was full and bright, he rode to the old bridge and, waiting for the haunted mansion to appear, he rode across the bridge and ran into the house and to the room where the treasures were.

But, just as before, as he was trying to leave with the magic bow under this arm, he heard the sound of the ghosts waking up.

“That thief is back again”, he heard them say, “Don’t let him get away this time”.

Running for his life, Jeremiah jumped onto his horse and rode as fast as he could towards the bridge that ran over the river and, this time, the ghosts, with their skeletal hands, almost caught hold of him, tearing off his cloak, one of his boots and the feather from his hat but, luckily, he managed to cross the river.

And then, happily, he took the magic bow back with him and, hitting one of the grey hairs from the beard of the father of the woman he loved as it was pinned to the trunk of a tree, splitting it completely down the middle, he won her hand in marriage.

But then, not long afterwards, his wife got very ill and every doctor who examined her was certain that she did not have long to live.

Remembering the last treasure that was left in the haunted house, the salve that could cure and heal anything, Jeremiah decided to try his luck one last time.

“If I do not make it back this time”, he said to himself, “It doesn’t matter. For, without my beloved wife, there’s no reason to go on living”.

And so, putting a saddle on his horse, he rode again to the haunted mansion and, entering the house, ran to the room containing the magical salve.

And, just as before, when he tried to leave the house, he heard the ghosts waking up.

“The thief is back”, he heard them say, “But this time he won’t get away”.

And, getting back onto his horse, Jeremiah rode for his life with the ghosts close behind him, grabbing at his cloak and his horses tail, however, this time when he got to the bridge, to his horror, the bridge started to collapse in front of him.

With no way to turn back, Jeremiah kept riding forward, his only hope, he thought, to try and jump over the river.

But the river was just too wide and, screaming, Jeremiah and his horse went plummeting down into it and Jeremiah broke his neck.

However, just as he was dying, the jar that contained the magic salve that could cure or heal anything came open and some of the salve spilled onto him, healing all of his wounds.

Rising up and pouring some of the salve onto his horse to mend its broken limbs, Jeremiah then rode back along the river side to his house and gave some of the salve to his beloved wife.

When he poured it onto her she recovered from her illness completely and after that, Jeremiah and his wife lived a very long and happy life together.