Jack and the Beanstalk
Once upon a time there was a poor widow who lived with her son Jack in a little house. Their
wealth consisted solely of a milking cow. When the cow had grown too old, the mother sent
Jack to sell it.
On his way to the market, the boy met a stranger.
"I will give you five magic beans for your cow," the stranger offered.
Jack was unsure he had to think awhile. It sounded like such a great deal that he decided to
accept.
When he returned home, his mother was furious.
"You fool! What have you done? We needed the money to buy a calf. Now we don't have
anything and we are even poorer."
Jack felt guilty and sad. "Only a fool would exchange a cow for five beans," his mother growled.
She was so mad that she threw the five beans out of the window and sent Jack to bed with no
dinner.
The morning after, when he stepped outside, Jack saw an amazing sight. A gigantic beanstalk,
reaching far into the clouds, had grown overnight.
"The beans must have really been magic," Jack thought happily.
Being very curious, the boy climbed the plant and once he reached the top of the stalk he
found himself over the clouds.
While looking around in amazement, Jack saw a huge castle.
"I wonder who lives there." he thought. Jack was very surprised to see a path leading to the
castle.
"What are you doing here?" a loud voice asked. The biggest woman he had ever seen was
growling at him. Jack could only mutter:
"I am lost. May I have something to eat? I am very hungry."
The woman, who did not have children, looked at him a little more kindly:
"Come in, quick. I will give you a bowl of milk. But be careful because my husband, the giant,
eats children. If you hear him coming, hide at once."
Jack was shaking with fear but nonetheless, he went inside. The milk the woman gave him was
very good and Jack had almost finished drinking it when they heard a tremendous noise. The
giant was home.
"Fee fi fo fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman!" the giant shouted.
"Hide, quick!" the woman whispered, pushing Jack into the oven.
"Do I smell a child in this room?" the giant asked, sniffing and looking all around.
"A child?" the woman repeated. "You see and hear children everywhere. That's all you ever
think about. Sit down and I'll make your dinner."
The giant, still grumbling, filled a his jug with wine and drank it all with his dinner.
The giant then told his wife to get his bag of gold coins and bring them to him, set them in front
of him on the table. After having counted again and again all the gold pieces of his treasure,
the giant fell asleep with his feet propped up on the table.
After a little while, his thundering snoring echoed throughout the castle. The giant's wife went
to prepare the giant's bed. Then Jack, who had sneaked out of the oven, saw the gold pieces
on the table and filled a little bag full of them.
"I hope he won't see me, he'll eat me whole, Jack thought while shivering with fear. Jack's heart
was beating faster, and faster because he feared the giant. But thanks to all the gold coins, he
and his mother would be rich.
Jack ran down the path over the clouds. He arrived at the top of the giant beanstalk and
began to descend as quickly as possible, hanging on to the leaves and the branches.
When he finally reached the ground, he found his mother waiting for him. The poor woman had
been worried sick since his disappearance.
She had been frightened by the giant beanstalk. When she saw Jack come down and hold up
the bag full of gold, she burst out crying:
"Where have you been, my son? Do you want me to die worrying? What kind of plant is this?
What . . ."
Jack cheerfully interrupted her, emptying the contents of the bag before her. "You see, I did
the right thing exchanging that cow for the magic beans."
Jack decided to go back to the castle above the clouds. This time the boy went inside through
the kitchen and hid once again in the oven. Shortly after, the giant came in and began to sniff
about.
"I smell children," he said to his wife. But since she had seen no one come in, she didn't pay
any attention to him.
After dinner, the giant placed a hen on the table. The hen laid golden eggs. Jack saw the hen
from a crack in the oven door. He waited for the giant to fall asleep, jumped out of the oven,
snatched the hen and ran out of the castle. The hen's squawking, however, woke up the
giant. "Thief! Thief!" he shouted. But Jack was already far away.
Once again, he found his mother anxiously waiting for him at the foot of the beanstalk.
"Is that all you got? A hen?" she asked Jack, disappointed. But Jack ran happily to the
courtyard.
"Just wait," he said to his mother. A little while later the hen laid a golden egg and continued to
lay an egg every single day after that.
One evening he gathered all his courage and climbed up the giant beanstalk again. This time
he entered the castle through an open window.
He sneaked in the darkness to the kitchen and hid inside a huge pot until the following day.
After dinner the giant went to get his magic harp that sang and played beautiful music. While
listening to the harp's sweet melody, the giant fell asleep.
In his hiding place, Jack was captivated by the harp's song as well. When he heard the giant
snore loudly, he lifted the pot's lid and saw the golden harp.
He quickly climbed on the table and ran away with the harp in his hands. The instrument woke
up the giant screaming:
"Master, master! Wake up! A thief is taking me away!" The giant woke up suddenly and he was
a bit confused for a couple of seconds but then realized what was happening and began
chasing Jack. The boy ran as fast as he could and the harp kept calling out.
When Jack got back down to the bottom of the beanstalk he called to his mother.
"Look what I've brought you!" The harp began to play an enchanting melody and his mother
smiled happily.
But up there in the clouds someone else had heard the harp's beautiful song and Jack soon
realized with terror that the thick beanstalk started shaking. The giant was coming down after
Jack.
"Hide the harp and bring me an ax! I must chop down the plant before the giant gets here,"
Jack said to his mother."
They could see the giant's huge boots coming down the stalk, but just then the beanstalk
snapped and broke, the giant crashed to the ground.
The magical sound of the harp cured his mother's sadness and she was once again happy and
cheerful.
The hen kept on laying golden eggs.
Jack's life had gone through a lot of changes since he had accepted the magic beans. But
thanks to Jack he and he mothers would never worry about going hungry ever again.
wealth consisted solely of a milking cow. When the cow had grown too old, the mother sent
Jack to sell it.
On his way to the market, the boy met a stranger.
"I will give you five magic beans for your cow," the stranger offered.
Jack was unsure he had to think awhile. It sounded like such a great deal that he decided to
accept.
When he returned home, his mother was furious.
"You fool! What have you done? We needed the money to buy a calf. Now we don't have
anything and we are even poorer."
Jack felt guilty and sad. "Only a fool would exchange a cow for five beans," his mother growled.
She was so mad that she threw the five beans out of the window and sent Jack to bed with no
dinner.
The morning after, when he stepped outside, Jack saw an amazing sight. A gigantic beanstalk,
reaching far into the clouds, had grown overnight.
"The beans must have really been magic," Jack thought happily.
Being very curious, the boy climbed the plant and once he reached the top of the stalk he
found himself over the clouds.
While looking around in amazement, Jack saw a huge castle.
"I wonder who lives there." he thought. Jack was very surprised to see a path leading to the
castle.
"What are you doing here?" a loud voice asked. The biggest woman he had ever seen was
growling at him. Jack could only mutter:
"I am lost. May I have something to eat? I am very hungry."
The woman, who did not have children, looked at him a little more kindly:
"Come in, quick. I will give you a bowl of milk. But be careful because my husband, the giant,
eats children. If you hear him coming, hide at once."
Jack was shaking with fear but nonetheless, he went inside. The milk the woman gave him was
very good and Jack had almost finished drinking it when they heard a tremendous noise. The
giant was home.
"Fee fi fo fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman!" the giant shouted.
"Hide, quick!" the woman whispered, pushing Jack into the oven.
"Do I smell a child in this room?" the giant asked, sniffing and looking all around.
"A child?" the woman repeated. "You see and hear children everywhere. That's all you ever
think about. Sit down and I'll make your dinner."
The giant, still grumbling, filled a his jug with wine and drank it all with his dinner.
The giant then told his wife to get his bag of gold coins and bring them to him, set them in front
of him on the table. After having counted again and again all the gold pieces of his treasure,
the giant fell asleep with his feet propped up on the table.
After a little while, his thundering snoring echoed throughout the castle. The giant's wife went
to prepare the giant's bed. Then Jack, who had sneaked out of the oven, saw the gold pieces
on the table and filled a little bag full of them.
"I hope he won't see me, he'll eat me whole, Jack thought while shivering with fear. Jack's heart
was beating faster, and faster because he feared the giant. But thanks to all the gold coins, he
and his mother would be rich.
Jack ran down the path over the clouds. He arrived at the top of the giant beanstalk and
began to descend as quickly as possible, hanging on to the leaves and the branches.
When he finally reached the ground, he found his mother waiting for him. The poor woman had
been worried sick since his disappearance.
She had been frightened by the giant beanstalk. When she saw Jack come down and hold up
the bag full of gold, she burst out crying:
"Where have you been, my son? Do you want me to die worrying? What kind of plant is this?
What . . ."
Jack cheerfully interrupted her, emptying the contents of the bag before her. "You see, I did
the right thing exchanging that cow for the magic beans."
Jack decided to go back to the castle above the clouds. This time the boy went inside through
the kitchen and hid once again in the oven. Shortly after, the giant came in and began to sniff
about.
"I smell children," he said to his wife. But since she had seen no one come in, she didn't pay
any attention to him.
After dinner, the giant placed a hen on the table. The hen laid golden eggs. Jack saw the hen
from a crack in the oven door. He waited for the giant to fall asleep, jumped out of the oven,
snatched the hen and ran out of the castle. The hen's squawking, however, woke up the
giant. "Thief! Thief!" he shouted. But Jack was already far away.
Once again, he found his mother anxiously waiting for him at the foot of the beanstalk.
"Is that all you got? A hen?" she asked Jack, disappointed. But Jack ran happily to the
courtyard.
"Just wait," he said to his mother. A little while later the hen laid a golden egg and continued to
lay an egg every single day after that.
One evening he gathered all his courage and climbed up the giant beanstalk again. This time
he entered the castle through an open window.
He sneaked in the darkness to the kitchen and hid inside a huge pot until the following day.
After dinner the giant went to get his magic harp that sang and played beautiful music. While
listening to the harp's sweet melody, the giant fell asleep.
In his hiding place, Jack was captivated by the harp's song as well. When he heard the giant
snore loudly, he lifted the pot's lid and saw the golden harp.
He quickly climbed on the table and ran away with the harp in his hands. The instrument woke
up the giant screaming:
"Master, master! Wake up! A thief is taking me away!" The giant woke up suddenly and he was
a bit confused for a couple of seconds but then realized what was happening and began
chasing Jack. The boy ran as fast as he could and the harp kept calling out.
When Jack got back down to the bottom of the beanstalk he called to his mother.
"Look what I've brought you!" The harp began to play an enchanting melody and his mother
smiled happily.
But up there in the clouds someone else had heard the harp's beautiful song and Jack soon
realized with terror that the thick beanstalk started shaking. The giant was coming down after
Jack.
"Hide the harp and bring me an ax! I must chop down the plant before the giant gets here,"
Jack said to his mother."
They could see the giant's huge boots coming down the stalk, but just then the beanstalk
snapped and broke, the giant crashed to the ground.
The magical sound of the harp cured his mother's sadness and she was once again happy and
cheerful.
The hen kept on laying golden eggs.
Jack's life had gone through a lot of changes since he had accepted the magic beans. But
thanks to Jack he and he mothers would never worry about going hungry ever again.
The End...
