In this nursery-rhyme-inspired game, you play as an adult Jack Horner. Your neighbor, Peter the pumpkin-eater, wakes you up to tell you that your other neighbor, Mother Goose, has been kidnapped and it's up to you to rescue her.
This solution is by David Welbourn, and is based on Release 1 of the work.
SPOILERS AHEAD. Reading a walkthrough prematurely can sometimes diminish one's enjoyment of a work of interactive fiction. Please make an honest effort to play the work before reading this walkthrough.
Assume that you got dressed immediately after Peter woke you. You don't need to find any clean clothes to wear.
> tutorial off.
> x me. x window.
> x board. x coat. take it.
> x clothes. search clothes. x trap. take it.
> x cabinet. open it. x cheese. take it.
> x bed. look under bed. x stove.
> w.
Town Square
> x children. x fountain. x coins. x water.
> talk to children.(They ignore you.)
> x tavern. x house.
> w.
Tavern
> x Simon. x Mary. x bosom.
> x taps. x mug. take mug.
> x tables. x piano. play piano.
> talk to Simon.(He's upset about rats.)
> ask Simon about Mother Goose.(Ogre took her.)
> ask Simon about ogre.(Ask Willy Winkie that.)
> ask Simon about Mary.
> talk to Mary. show trap to Mary.(She gives you a key.)
> x key. unlock door with key. open door. w.
Tavern Storeroom
> x shelves. x supplies.
> x ale. fill mug.(with ale)
> x sack. x droppings.
> pull sack.(You find a rat hole, and a rat looks at you.)
> drop trap. put cheese on trap.
> e.
Tavern
"SNAP!"
> w.
Tavern Storeroom
> take trap. x rat. e.
Tavern
> show trap to Mary.(She screams and Simon throws you out.)
Town Square
> n.
Cobblestone Street (north end)
> x building. x house.
> w.
Blacksmith's Shop
> x George. x anvil. x pail.
> ask George about Mother Goose.
> ask George about ogre.
> ask George about Willy.
> w.(no: He wants a drink.)
> give mug to George.(okay)
> open door. w.
Blacksmith's Storeroom
> x box. x scrap. search scrap.
> x horn. take it.
> e. e. e.
Peter's House
> x shell. open it. x wife. close shell.
> x bed. look under bed. x turnip. take it.
> x cupboard. open it. x poison. take it. close cupboard.
> x tools.
> e.(no: bad idea)
> w. n.
Forest
> x tree. u.(no: need free hands)
> drop all. u.
In Old Oak Tree
> x nest. look in nest. x matches. take matches.
> d.
Forest
> take all. s. s. s.
Cobblestone Street (south end)
> x building. x house.
> e.
Mother Goose's House
> x bed. x dresser. open it. x underwear.
> x vial. take it. open it.
> x shelf. x food. x candy. take candy.
> x rug. move rug. x trapdoor. open it.
It's dark downstairs, so return here later.
> w. n.
Town Square
> give candy to kids. take coins.
> s. w.
General Store
> x Polly. x lamp. buy lamp.(using the coins)
> x books. x food. x toys. x hardware.
> ask Polly about Mother Goose. ask Polly about me.
> ask Polly about ogre. ask Polly about troll.
> ask Polly about Willy. ask Polly about Peter.
> ask Polly about Simon. ask Polly about Mary.
> ask Polly about Bo Peep. ask Polly about Boy Blue.
> ask Polly about George. ask Polly about herself.
> e. s.
Outside Willy's House
> x house. x fence. x grass.
> w.
Front of Willy's House
> x mat. read inscription.
> x chair. sit on chair.
> x door. knock on door. blow horn.(Willy opens the door.)
> w.
Inside Willy's House
> x Willy. x books. x candles. x fireplace. x knick-knacks.
> ask Willy about creatures.
> ask Willy about ogre.(He gives you a potion.)
> x potion. ask Willy about troll.
> e. e. n. e.
Mother Goose's House
> light lamp with match. d.
Mother Goose's Basement
Why does Mother Goose have gunpowder in her basement? We'll never know.
> x keg. take it. x books.
> u. w. n. n. n. n.
Deep Forest
> x doll. take it. smell it.
> w.
East Side of Chasm
> x bridge. x river. w.(A troll stops you!)
> x troll. ask troll about bridge.
> ask troll about toll.
> ask troll about ogre.
This is as good a time as any to find out if the magic word XYZZY might make things any easier. It won't, but you should try it to see some visions.
> xyzzy. g. g. g. g. g.
This next bit is unpleasant, but it's gotta be done:
> take rat. put poison on rat.
> give rat to troll. push troll.
> w.
West Side of Chasm
The potion, when worn, stops any ogres from noticing you by your odor.
> x cave. put potion on me.
> w.
Mouth of Cave
Do not wake the child ogre.
> x ogre. n.
Cave
> x rocks. search rocks. take key. x it.
> n.
Ogre's Lair
Do not wake the ogre.
> x ogre. x cage. x Goose. x bones.
> unlock cage with rusty key. open cage.
> give coat to Goose.
> put potion on Goose.
> take Goose.(no: not without leaving a decoy)
> put vial on doll. put doll in cage.
> take Goose.(She's now following you.)
> close cage.
> s. s. e. e.
East Side of Chasm
Mother Goose tells you to blow up the bridge, then she runs home.
> put keg on bridge. light keg with match.
> e. s. s.
Cobblestone Street (north end)
KABOOM!
*** You have won ***
Extras
Characters
Jack Horner is the player-character. When you were a boy, you supposedly stuck your thumb into a plum pie, but you don't remember ever doing that. Now an adult, you're proud of your mediocre carpentry skills, and you enjoy playing the piano when drunk. What a good man you are!
Peter the pumpkin eater is your scary neighbor. He wakes you up at the start of the game to tell you that Mother Goose has been kidnapped.
Little Bo Peep can be seen through the window of your house. She's looking for her lost sheep. Again.
Several children are singing and dancing around the fountain in the town square.
Simon is the tavern's ornery bartender. Don't you dare call him "Simple"!
Mary is the buxom tavern wench, but she's known to be contrary.
George is the blacksmith. He used to be "Georgie Porgie", but he's much more fit now.
Polly runs the local general store, but her favorite activity is to put the kettle on so we can all have some tea.
Willy Winkie is an old guy who lives in the southern end of town. He's the local authority on mythological creatures.
A troll lives under the bridge that leads to the ogre's cave. He demands a toll of meat.
An ogre child is sleeping in the mouth of the cave.
An adult ogre is sleeping in his lair deeper in the cave.
Mother Goose is your friend, your neighbor, and the author of all the nursery rhymes you know. She usually wears a rose-scented perfume. The ogre, tempted by her pleasant scent, kidnapped her to eat her later.
Found dead:
Peter's wife, who you thought was merely missing, is dead and pickled inside a giant pumpkin shell in Peter's house.
The bones of the ogre's previous victims litter the floor of his lair.
Mentioned (mostly via XYZZY):
The sheep belonging to Bo Peep are lost again, to no one's surprise.
In a vision, you learn that Little Miss Muffet doesn't actually like eating curds and whey.
In a vision, Humpty Dumpty falls off a wall, and now all the king's men won't have any eggs for breakfast.
In a vision, Mary's mother chides Mary to eat some vegetables, not just lamb.
In a vision, Hickory Dickory Dock, who is a grandfather clock, attack two mice who try to climb up him.
In a vision, Jack and Jill go up a hill. Later, they have a daughter.
In a vision, Peter Piper picks a peck of pickled peppers.
Little Boy Blue left town after his affair with Bo Peep.
Credits
The response to CREDITS is:
Concept by Garry Francis and Michael Berryman.
Game design and coding by Garry Francis.
Play testing by Darren & Jasper, Deborah Sherwood, Gianluca Girelli, Hidnook, Jade J Aincioa, John H Doolittle, Leon Lin and manonamora.
Endings
You have died
if you attack the ogre child; it tears you apart.
if you're in the cave when the bridge explodes; the ogre tears you apart.
if you're beside the bridge when it explodes; the blast kills you.
You have won
if you blow up the bridge after rescuing Mother Goose.
Inventory
Items are listed in the order acquired in this walkthrough.
a warm coat. It's on the peg board in your house.
In the ogre's lair, after opening the cage, give the coat to Mother Goose to warm her up.
a rat trap. Find it by searching the pile of clothes in your house.
In the tavern storeroom, after finding the rat hole, drop the trap and put the cheese on it, then leave the room. You'll hear a "SNAP". Return to the storeroom. The trap now has a dead rat instead of cheese. Take the rat from the trap.
some cheese. It's inside your house's cabinet.
In the tavern storeroom, drop the rat trap then put the cheese on it.
an empty mug. It's on the bar in the tavern.
In the tavern storeroom, fill the mug (from the barrel). The mug is now a mug of ale.
CAUTION: If you drop the mug to climb the oak tree, the ale is spilled and lost. Either UNDO or after you're done with the tree, return to the tavern storeroom and fill up the mug again. Likewise if you decide to drink the ale.
In the blacksmith's shop, try to go west into his storeroom to learn he wants a drink. Give him the mug of ale and he lets you enter his storeroom. Oh, and he returns the empty mug.
the storeroom key. In the tavern, show the (empty) rat trap to Mary. She gives you the storeroom key, expecting you to kill the rat in there for her.
Unlock the storeroom door with the key.
Amusingly, if you try to give the key back to Mary, she tells you to keep it!
a dead rat. There's a rat in the rat hole in the tavern storeroom.
Pull the sack (away from the wall) to reveal the rat hole. Drop the rat trap, put the cheese on the trap, leave the room, and return. A dead rat is now in the trap.
Attempt to cross the bridge; a troll emerges from under the bridge and stops you. Take the rat from the trap, put poison on the rat, then give the poisoned rat to the troll. The troll will now be retching until you push him off the bridge.
a bottle of poison. It's in the cupboard in Peter's house.
a turnip. Find it by looking under the bed in Peter's house.
You don't need the turnip and I have no idea why it's in the game.
a horn. Find it by searching the scrap metal in the bin in the blacksmith's storeroom.
In front of Willy's house, blow the horn to wake Willy up and get him to open his door.
By the way, if you ask Polly about Little Boy Blue, you learn that he left his horn behind when he left town, so you should conclude that this horn used to be his.
some matches. They're in the nest in the old oak tree in the forest.
Note: You need your hands free for climbing. Drop everything before climbing; pick up everything after you climb down.
After putting the keg of gunpowder on the bridge, light the keg with a match and run away.
some candy. It's on the shelves in Mother Goose's house.
In the town square, give the candy to the children. They run away with it. You can now reach the coins in the fountain.
a vial of perfume. It's inside the dresser in Mother Goose's house.
In the ogre's lair, put some perfume on the doll, then put the doll into the cage.
some coins. They're in the town square's fountain.
To get the children out of your way to the fountain, give some candy to them.
In the general store, buy the oil lamp with the coins.
an oil lamp. It's for sale in the general store. Buy it with the coins.
Light the lamp with the matches. Now you can see in dark locations, such as Mother Goose's basement and inside the ogre's cave.
a keg of gunpowder. It's in Mother Goose's basement.
After you rescue Mother Goose and you've both crossed the bridge to the east side, put the keg on the bridge, light the keg with the matches, then run away! A few turns later, the explosion destroys the bridge, and the ogres can no longer menace the town.
a flask of scentless potion. Inside Willy Winkle's house, ask Willy about the ogre. He tells you about ogres and gives you this potion.
On the west side of the chasm, put some potion on yourself to nullify your own odor.
In the ogre's lair, after opening the cage, put some potion on Mother Goose to nullify her scent.
a child's doll. It's abandoned in the deep forest.
After giving the coat to Mother Goose, put some perfume on the doll so it smells like Mother Goose, then put the doll into the cage. Now you can take Mother Goose out of the cage; she won't leave without a decoy left in her place.
a rusty key. Find it in the cave between the ogres by searching the rocks there.
The rusty key unlocks the cage in the ogre's lair.
