After their mother and father died Jack lived with his older brother on the farm their parents had left to them. Jack’s older brother always looked out for Jack and made sure he was well taken care of.
In the evenings Jack and his brother would sit by the fire talking about the day’s activities on the farm and his brother would tell Jack stories he needed to know for living life long and well.
One morning Jack came downstairs at sunrise and his brother was not at the breakfast table eating his scrambled eggs covered in ketchup like he was every other morning when Jack got up. Jack went into his brother’s bedroom and found him lying in his bed.
“Brother? What’s the matter?” asked Jack.
“Jack, I don’t know what’s the matter but there’s something wrong with me and I don’t know what’s going to happen to me.”
Jack was real worried about his brother. He tried to do some chores. He milked the cows and fed the chickens. But things just didn’t seem right without his brother by his side like he always was. Jack was thinking about his brother so much he couldn’t keep his mind on what he was doing, so he decided to go for a walk around the farm.
It was a cool crisp October day. The leaves on the trees blazed red and gold and yellow. Next to the barn there was a nut tree loaded with nuts. Brightly colored leaves floated gently to the ground as Jack gazed up at the nuts in the tree. Jack bent down and picked up an old stick and threw it up into the nut tree. A hail of nuts rained down around Jack. He squatted down, scooped up a handful of nuts and dumped them into his pockets. Just as Jack bent over to pick up another handful of nuts he saw a figure dressed in a black hooded robe coming down the road, walking toward the farmhouse. The form got closer and closer and Jack saw that the person in black was Death. Death was coming for his brother.
Well Jack wasn’t going to let Death have his brother. Without thinking Jack ran at death, grabbed him by the throat and began hitting Death with his fist. He HIT Death and he HIT Death and he HIT Death. And each time Jack hit Death, Death got a little bit smaller, and smaller and smaller. Jack kept hitting, and hitting, and hitting Death until Death was so small that Jack picked Death up from the ground and held Death in his right hand. With his left hand he pulled a nut out of his pocket and squeezed the nut until the two halves of the nut opened and he pushed Death into that nut and squeezed the halves shut. Jack had Death trapped! Now he wasn’t going to get his brother.
Jack went down to the sea and stood on the sandy beach. He looked out over that great blue-green ocean. Jack took that nut with Death in it and threw it as far out to sea as he could. Now, Jack felt so much better. He went back to the farmhouse, opened the door and there was his brother, sitting at the kitchen table, soaking his scrambled eggs in ketchup.
“Jack, I just got out of bed. I feel so much better. I don’t know why but I feel alright now.”
Jack and his brother hugged. Jack grabbed his guitar from the corner and strummed a happy tune while his brother danced a jig.
Jack said, “Brother, here’s what we’re going to do. You stay here and get the fire going. I’ll go into town to the Butcher and get the biggest steak I can buy. Then we’ll have a celebration meal.”
Jack walked to the Butcher’s. He entered the little butcher shop and strode to the counter. “Butcher, give me the biggest piece of steak you’ve got in your shop!”
“Jack,” sighed the Butcher. “I would if I could but I don’t know what’s gone wrong today. I was just out in the back and tried to kill a heifer. I don’t know if the knife keeps slipping out of my hand or the heifer runs away. But I haven’t been able to kill an animal all morning. I haven’t got a piece of meat in the shop.”
“Well,” said Jack. “I guess we can celebrate without meat. I’ll go home and pick some corn. I’ve got something to celebrate today.”
Jack left the Butcher’s and walked back to the farmhouse. He walked into his garden. He saw the rows of corn. So he went to one of the stalks, got out his knife and tried to cut off an ear of corn. But maybe the knife was blunt or the stalks were tough and strong, for he could not cut off that ear of corn.
“Well,” thought Jack, I’ll break it off with my bare hands.” Jack grabbed the ear of corn and he twisted and bent and pulled, but the ear of corn would not break off.
So Jack went into the house empty-handed. There was his brother in front of the fireplace. But there was no fire burning.
“Jack,” he said, “I can’t seem to get the wood to light at all today. Where’s the meat? Jack, what’s been happening today?”
Jack sat down with his brother and told him all that happened under the nut tree.
Jack’s older brother looked at him and said, “Jack, don’t you remember the tales I’ve told you? Jack, each of us has a time in our lives when Death must come and you’ve taken that time away from me. Until you give me that time back I suppose nothing right can happen in this world.”
Jack took his brother by the shoulders and he looked deep into his eyes and he hugged him and bid him farewell.
Jack went out of the house and down to the sea. He stood on the sandy beach and he looked over the great blue-green ocean. And there on the seventh wave he saw it—the nut. The nut came closer and closer to the shore until at last it was on the sand at his feet. Jack bent down and picked it up. He looked at that nut. He put it between his hands and he crushed it and dropped the pieces on the sand.
Jack went back to his cold house, his empty house, and there he found his brother lying on his bed, his eyes closed in death.
Jack called all his friends and neighbors and together they dug a grave for Jack’s older brother in the earth. They laid him in his grave then went back into the house.
That evening they ate and drank and they told tales about Jack’s brother. They told tales of his life. And Jack told tales that his older brother had told him.
That night Jack went to bed for the first time in the cold house alone. The next morning as the sun shone through Jack’s bedroom window he woke up. He took some money and took a few things. Jack made a bundle and hung it on the end of a stick. He put that stick on his shoulder. Jack went out of the front door, out into the world, whistling “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” ready for the rest of his life.”