Jack and The Bean Stalk
1. The Magic Beans
Jack and his mother lived all alone in a little hut. They had no money, only a garden and a cow named Blackey.
Jack and his mother got milk from Blackey the cow everyday. But one day, Blackey went dry; she had no more milk.
“Oh no!” Jack’s mother said, “If Blackey doesn’t give us milk we have to sell her.”
“We have to sell our cow?” Jack said.
“Yes, Jack. Take Blackey to the market, and sell her for as much money as you can get. We are very poor now.”
Jack was sorry that the little cow had to be sold, but he put a rope around Blackey’s neck and walked with her down the path.
Jack had not gone far, when he met a little old man with a long gray beard.
“Well, Jack,” said the little old man, “where are you taking Blackey this fine morning?”
Jack was surprised that the stranger knew his name and the cow’s name, but he answered politely, “Oh, I am taking the cow to market to sell her.”
“There is no need,” said the little old man, “I will buy the cow from you, for a price.”
“What price would you give me?” asked Jack.
“Oh, I will give you a handful of beans for her,” said the old man.
“No, no,” Jack shook his head. “The cow is worth much more! I will not sell her for beans! I will sell her for good silver money!”
“But wait till you see the beans,” said the old man. Then he took handful of beans out from his pocket. When Jack saw the beans his eyes sparkled, because they were such beans as he had never seen before. They were of all colors, red and green and blue and purple and yellow. And they were shiny, as if polished.
But still Jack shook his head. It was silver money his mother wanted, not beans.
“Then I will tell you something further about these beans,” said the man. “This is such a bargain as you will never find again; for these are magic beans. If you plant them they will grow straight up to the sky in a single night! and you can climb up there and look around the sky.”
When Jack heard that he changed his mind. Jack thought such beans as that were worth more than a cow. He put Blackey’s rope in the old man’s hand, and took the beans. Then Jack put the beans in his pocket and ran home with them.
His mother was surprised to see him back from market so soon.
“Well, did you sell Blackey the cow?” she asked.
“Yes!” Jack said to his mother.
“And what price did you get for her?” Mother said.
“A very good price.” said Jack.
“But how much? How much? Twenty-five dollars? Or twenty? Or even ten?” Mother asked.
“I sold her to an old man for some magic beans!” Jack said. And he took the beans out of his pocket and showed them to his mother.
But when Jack’s mother heard that he sold the cow for beans she began to cry. “Jack, you did a very bad thing!” Mother said. She did not care how pretty the beans were, and she did not believe that they were magic beans. She said “Now we have no cow, and we have no money.”
So she punished Jack and sent him to bed without supper. Then she threw away the beans out the window.
2. The Bean Stalk
The next morning Jack woke up. He was very surprised because his room was dark, and there was no sunlight. He looked out the window but could not see the sky. He only saw green leaves!
Jack stuck his head out of the window and looked down to the ground. There were the beans that his mother had thrown out. One of the beans had taken root at night, and had grown big. The stalk had grown and grown until it reached into the sky!
Jack leaned out of the window and looked up. and he could not see the top of the stalk. He grabbed the bean-stalk and tried to shake it. When Jack saw that it didn’t shake, he knew the bean-stalk was strong enough to climb on it. So Jack jumped out of the window and climbed up the bean-stalk toward the sky.
He climbed and he climbed until he was high above the roof-top and high above the trees. He climbed till he could hardly see the garden down below, and the birds flew about him. The wind swayed the bean-stalk back and forth, so he held on tight.
Jack climbed higher and higher, and reached the top of the bean-stalk. At the top, Jack came to a new land in the sky! The sky was not blue and hollow as it looks to us down here below. It was a land of flat green meadows and trees and streams. And Jack saw a road that led straight across the meadows to a great tall gray castle.
Jack climbed off of the bean-stalk and set his feet in the road. Then began to walk toward the castle.
He had not gone far when he met a lovely lady. She was a fairy, but Jack did not know it.
“Where are you going, Jack?” she asked.
“I’m going to that castle to have a look at it,” said Jack.
“That is well,” said the lady, “only you must be careful there, for that castle belongs to a very fierce, rich, and terrible giant.”
Jack was worried, and he looked again at the castle down the road. Then the lady whispered to Jack, “And now I will tell you something more: all the treasures of the giant used to belong to your father! The giant stole the treasure from your father. So if you can take anything away with you back home, it will be right and fair.”
Jack thanked her for what she told him, and then he went on, setting one foot before the other.
3. The Giant's Castle
After awhile Jack came to the castle. He saw a giant woman sweeping the steps, and she was the giant’s wife.
When she saw Jack she looked frightened. “What do you want here?” she yelled. “go away before my husband the giant comes home! For if he finds you here at his castle he will eat you like a piece of bread.”
“Yes, yes, I know”; said Jack, “but I’ve had no breakfast, and I’m so hungry. Just give me a small bite of food and I will leave.” The giant’s wife did not want to do that at all, but Jack begged her until at last she let him come into the castle. Then she got some bread and cheese for him.
Jack had hardly sat down to eat when he heard a loud noise and large feet stomping outside.
“Oh, no!” said the giant’s wife, and her face turned pale. “There’s my husband the giant coming home. And if he sees you he will swallow you down in a second! And I will be in trouble too!”
Jack didn’t like the sound of that. “Can you hide me somewhere?” he asked.
“Here, hide in this giant copper pot,” said the woman. So she took off the lid, and helped Jack get into the pot. Then she put the lid over him.
Just then, the giant came into the kitchen, stomping his big feet.
“Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman!” he roared.
“Be he alive or be he dead I’ll grind his bones to make my bread.”
“What nonsense!” said his wife. “No one is here. I would have seen them. A crow flew over the roof and dropped a bone down the chimney, and that is what you smell.”
When she said this the giant believed her. So he sat down at the table and asked for breakfast. The giant woman put before him three whole roasted cows and two loaves of bread each as big as a pig. and the giant ate them up in a moment.
4. The Bags of Gold Coins
“Now, wife, bring me my moneybags from the treasure room,” he said.
His wife went out through a great door studded with nails, and when she came back she brought two bags with her and set them on the table in front of the giant. Jack heard the clinking of coins in the bags. The giant untied the strings and opened the bags, and they were full of gold coins.
The giant sat at the table and counted the money. He counted and counted and counted, while Jack kept quiet in the copper pot. After all the coins were counted, the giant put them into the bags again.
Then he stretched his legs out in front of him and went to sleep. And he snored so loud that until the rafters of the roof were shaking.
The giant’s wife worked in the kitchen for awhile and then she went into another room. Jack waited until he was sure that she was gone. Then he pushed the lid of the pot and crept out.
He crept over to the table, reached up, and grabbed hold of the moneybags. He held them tight, and crept out of the castle. Neither the sleeping giant nor his wife noticed Jack leave the castle.
Jack ran with the money bags down the road until he came to the bean-stalk. He tied the bags on his belt, and quickly climbed down the bean-stalk to his mother.
“Look,” Jack said to his mother, “Look at all these gold coins!”
When Jack’s mother saw the moneybags she was filled with wonder and joy. “Those were once your father’s,” said she, “but they were stolen from him! I never thought I would see them again!”
After that Jack and his mother lived well because of the gold coins. They had plenty to eat and drink, and good clothes to wear, and everything they wanted. And they were not stingy or greedy. Jack and his mother shared their good luck with their neighbors as well, and bought them many gifts.
5. Up the Bean-Stalk a Second Time
But after awhile the money was almost gone. “I’ll just climb up the bean-stalk again,” said Jack to himself, “and see what else the giant has in his castle.”
So he climbed and he climbed and he climbed. And after awhile he came to the giant’s country in the sky. and there in front of him lay the road to the castle. Jack walked along briskly, till he came to the castle door. He didn’t see anyone, so he opened the door and stepped inside.
There was the giant’s wife in the kitchen cleaning the pots and pans, and when she saw Jack she almost dropped the skillet she was holding.
“You here again?” She yelled.
“Yes, here I am again,” said Jack.
“Then I wish you were some place else,” said the giant’s wife; “when you were here before our moneybags were stolen. And I wonder if you had something to do with it.”
“Oh, oh! How can you think that?” cried Jack.
“Well, in any case, go away.” And the giant’s wife spoke in a sad voice. “I want no more strange boys around my castle.”
“Yes, yes, I will leave. But first may I have some breakfast?” Jack asked the giant’s wife.
“No! Go away!” She said.
But as soon as she spoke, they heard the giant coming to the door!
The giant’s wife was terribly afraid, “Oh, if he finds you here we will both be in trouble!” she cried.
“Quick; into the pot again!”
So Jack crawled into the copper pot like before. And the giant’s wife put the lid over him.
Just then, the giant st0mped into the room.
“Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum,” he growled, “I smell the blood of an Englishman; Be he alive or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my bread!”
“Nonsense,” said his wife, “you’re always imagining things. Here, sit down at the table and eat your breakfast. A crow flew over the roof and dropped a bone in the fire, and that is what you smell.”
The giant sniffed the air, and then, still growling, he sat down at the table and began to eat.
6. The Red Hen and the Golden Eggs
After the giant had finished eating he said, “Now wife, bring me my little red hen from the treasure room.”
His wife went into the treasure-room, and quickly she came back with a little red hen in her apron. She set the hen on the table before the giant. The giant grinned till he showed all his teeth.
“My little red hen, my pretty red hen, lay an egg,” said the giant.
As soon as he said that, the hen laid an egg all of pure gold!
“My little red hen, my pretty red hen, lay an egg again!” said the giant. Then the little red hen laid another egg of pure gold.
“My little red hen, my pretty red hen, lay an egg again,” said the giant. Then the hen laid a third golden egg.
“There!” said the giant, “that is enough for today. Now, wife, you can take her back to the treasure room.”
His wife picked up the hen and carried her off to the treasure room. But when she came back into the kitchen she forgot to shut the door to the treasure room.
Then he stretched his legs out in front of him and went to sleep. And he snored so loud that until the rafters of the roof were shaking.
The giant’s wife worked in the kitchen. When she wasn’t looking, Jack crept out of the pot. He crept over to the door of the treasure room and slipped through the door. And in the treasure room he saw the little red hen sitting comfortably on a golden nest.
Jack picked her up and carried her under his arm. And she never made a sound. So Jack crept back through the kitchen and out the castle door, and ran off down the road. And the giant’s wife didn’t saw him leave.
But just as Jack reached the bean-stalk the hen began to cackle, Bock bock bock! This sound woke the giant. “Wife, wife,” he roared, “someone is stealing my little red hen,” and he ran out of the castle and looked around. But he could not see anyone, for Jack was already half-way down the bean-stalk.
When Jack came home with the red hen, he showed him mother what he had taken from the giant. She was surprised to see the golden eggs and was very happy.
After that Jack and his mother always had enough money. Whenever they needed money, Jack would say to the hen “My little red hen, my pretty red hen, lay an egg,” and the hen would lay a gold egg.
7. Up the Bean-Stalk a Third Time
Still Jack was not satisfied. He wanted to see what else was in the giant’s castle. So one day, without telling his mother, he climbed up the bean-stalk to the sky land, and hurried along the road to the giant’s castle.
“I do not want the giant’s wife to see me this time,” Jack said to himself, “because she probably knows it was me who took the money bags and the red hen.”
This was true. And had told the giant all about it, too.
Jack crept up to the castle very carefully, and he saw no one. He opened the castle door a crack and looked in, and still he saw no one. He pushed it open a little wider. Then he ran across the kitchen and hid himself in the giant oven.
Just then the giant’s wife came in. “Pfu!” said she. “What a draft! The door must have blown open.” and she closed the door. Then she set the giant’s breakfast on the table, still talking to herself.
Then the giant came Stomping into the castle. The moment he entered the room he began to growl— “Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman; Be he alive or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my bread.”
“What?” cried his wife, “I found the door open just now. Do you think that awful boy is in the house again?”
“If he is, he will be my breakfast,” said the giant.
The giant’s wife ran to the copper pot and lifted the lid, and looked inside it, but no one was there. Then she and the giant began to look around the kitchen. They looked in the cupboards and behind the doors, and every place, but they never thought of looking in the oven.
“He must not be here after all,” said the wife, “or we would have found him. It must be something else you smell.”
So the giant sat down and began to eat his breakfast, but as he ate he mumbled and grumbled to himself.
8. The Giant and His Golden Harp
After the giant had finished eating he said, “Wife, bring out my golden harp to sing for me.”
His wife went into the treasure room and came back carrying a golden harp. She set it on the table before the giant and at once it began to make music. And the music was so beautiful that it would melt your heart.
The giant’s wife sat down to listen, too. Then the music put them both to sleep. So Jack crept out of the oven and grabbed the harp from the table. And he crept out of the castle and ran off with the harp.
At once the harp began to speak, “Master! master! help! Someone is running off with me!”
The giant started out of sleep and looked around him. When saw that the harp was gone he roared like an angry bull. And he ran to the door saw Jack already half-way down the road. “Stop! stop!” cried the giant, but Jack ran faster. He ran until he reached the bean-stalk. Then he climbed down as fast as he could with the harp.
The giant ran to the bean-stalk and looked down. And he saw Jack far, far down below him. The giant was not used to climbing. He did not know whether to follow or not. Then the harp spoke again, “Help, master, help!” Then the giant decided to climb down too. He took hold of the bean-stalk and began to climb down.
But the giant was slow, and Jack reached the ground first.
9. Jack Chops Down the Bean-Stalk
“Quick! quick, mother!” Jack said. “Bring me an ax.”
His mother came running with an ax. She did not know why Jack wanted an ax, but she knew he was in a hurry.
Jack took the ax and began to chop the bean-stalk. The giant above felt the stalk tremble. “Wait! wait!” the giant yelled to Jack, “I want to talk to you!”
But before he could say anything more Jack cut through the bean-stalk. Then the bean-stalk fell over with a mighty crash. And as the giant fell too, that was the end of him. And Jack was safe at last.
So Jack and his mother lived happily in peace and plenty forever after.