Jack and the Beanstalk
Once upon a time there was a boy named Jack
who lived with his poor widowed mother.
They had sold almost everything they owned to buy food.
When their last cow stopped giving milk,
Jack’s mother sent him to town to sell it.
On the way to town Jack met a strange fellow
who told him stories of magic beans.
“Where can I buy some of these magic beans for my mother?” asked Jack.
“I have the last five magic beans
and I will sell them to you because you are a good boy,”
the strange man smiled at Jack.
“Well I have nothing but our old cow
and we need the money I would get by selling her for food.”
The man replied, “Trust me, my boy,
these beans will bring you food and fortune
and your mother will be proud.”
Jack hesitated but finally traded the cow for the beans.
When Jack returned home his mother was furious
and threw the beans out the kitchen window, crying.
Jack went to bed that night, sad and hungry.
He woke the next morning to find a huge beanstalk growing in the garden.
“The beans really are magic!” he cried.
Jack saw that stalk reached the clouds.
He remembered stories about the clouds containing gold
and started climbing the stalk to see what he could find.
He climbed and climbed.
When he got to the top he saw a huge castle
and headed for it.
The door was so big that Jack could crawl beneath it.
Once inside he saw a giant man eating his dinner.
When the giant was finished
he called his servant to bring him his bag of gold coins.
While counting his money
the giant became drowsy and fell asleep.
Jack crept up to the giant and stole his bag of gold.
He struggled down the beanstalk with his money
and when he got to the bottom he called for his mother.
Jack’s mother was very happy
because this money was the same money
that the giant had stolen from Jack’s father many years ago.
But she was also afraid
she knew how dangerous the giant was
and made Jack promise he would never go back.
While Jack did promise, after awhile the money began to run out.
Jack began to wonder if he would find anything else in the castle.
Once again, Jack decided he would go back up the beanstalk
and back to the castle.
Once again he reached the castle
and climbed under the castle door.
And once again he found the giant eating dinner at his table.
When he was finished this time however, the giant called for his magic hen.
Jack was amazed when he saw the hen lay an egg of pure gold.
While the giant was watching the hen
he again became drowsy and fell asleep.
Jack crept silently to the table and grabbed the hen.
When he returned home
his mother was very angry that Jack had gone back to the castle.
She grabbed Jack’s axe, intent on cutting the beanstalk down.
Jack begged her not to
and showed her how hen that could lay golden eggs.
Jack’s mother put the axe down
and watched with delight
as the hen layed one beautiful golden egg after another.
After awhile, Jack’s curiosity got the better of him
and he once again thought about what else he could find in the castle.
Once again, Jack decided he would go back up the beanstalk
and back to the castle.
Once again he reached the castle
and climbed under the castle door.
And once again he found the giant eating dinner at his table.
And once again, when he was finished this time however
the giant called for his magic harp.
Jack watched as the harp began to play beautiful music all by itself.
The music was so beautiful that before long
the lazy giant was once again fast asleep.
Jack crept silently to the table.
But as soon as Jack picked up the harp
it began playing very loudly in his strange hands
and the giant awoke.
“Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum,” yelled the giant
and he chased after the boy and his harp.
Jack raced to the beanstalk and slid down.
He could feel the stalk shake as the giant began climbing down.
Luckily his axe was near by and he began chopping down the beanstalk.
The beanstalk shook and cracked under the weight of the giant
and Jack’s chopping.
Finally the stalk snapped
and the giant fell to the earth never to be seen again.
Jack and his mother lived happily ever after.
The End