JACK-O'-LANTERNS

On route home after a night's drinking,

Jack encounters the Devil and tricks him into climbing a tree.

A quick-thinking Jack etches the sign of the cross into the bark,

thus trapping the Devil. Jack strikes a bargain that Satan 

can never claim his soul. After a life of sin, drink and

mendacity, Jack is refused entry to heaven when he dies.

Keeping his promise, the Devil refuses to let Jack into hell

and throws a live coal straight from the fires of hell at him.

It was a cold night, so Jack places the coal in a hollowed

out turnip to stop it from going out, since which time

Jack and his lantern have been roaming looking for a place to rest.