Fairytales have a timeless charm, filled with magic, adventure, and lessons to be learned. In this classic story of Jack and the Beanstalk, follow Jack’s journey as he stumbles upon a towering beanstalk that leads to a magical world above the clouds. What treasures—and dangers—await him in the land of giants? Let’s dive into this enchanting tale!
Jack and the Beanstalk
Once upon a time, there was a boy named Jack, who lived with his mother in a cramped little cottage on a small farm. They didn’t have much, only a cow, and each other.
Jack was a sweet boy, who always tried his best, but he was a little forgetful, and he didn’t always make the most sensible choices. He let the chickens run away, he forgot to collect the harvest, and he even crashed the cart. Like I say… he meant well.
All they had left was the cow, and she no longer gave them enough milk, and so Jack’s mother decided they must sell her. Jack’s mother wanted to trust him to do a good job, she really did. So she let him go, telling him, “Don’t take less than 5 silver pieces for her!”
Jack took the cow and set off for the market. He practiced what he would say in his head all the way. “I won’t take less than 5, I won’t take less than 5.” He came across an old man, sitting on a rock by the side of the road. He looked a bit grubby and a bit strange, but the man said, “That’s a very nice cow. Are you selling her?”
Jack blurted out, “I won’t take less than 5!” The old man said, “DONE!” and handed Jack a little jingling coin purse. “Well, that was easy!” Jack thought. He couldn’t believe his luck! And off he skipped, back down the road to the farm to tell his mother.
“That was easy!” she said, as he came hurtling through the door. “I met a man on the road and he bought her straight away! I just said, ‘I won’t take less than 5,’ just like you told me, and he didn’t even argue. He just gave me the coin purse and I ran off before he could change his mind! I did it, Mother!”
“What do you mean he gave you the coin purse?… Did you count the money, Jack?… Did you even look inside?”
Jack opened his mouth to answer, but no sound came out as he realized that no, he hadn’t counted the money, and no, he hadn’t looked inside. He watched as his mother pulled open the purse strings and tipped it upside down into her open palm. Jack’s world came crashing down as he looked at what his mother held in her hand.
Well, there were 5, so at least that was something. But not silver pieces. Not even coppers. No, not coins at all, but beans. Five measly beans. He looked at his mother, and she looked at him, and her disappointment just about broke his heart. She didn’t say a word, just stomped out of the house, throwing the beans on the ground as she went.
Jack just went right to bed without any supper, because there wasn’t any. What would they do now? Tomorrow, he decided, he would leave the farm, and he would not return until he found a good job so he could take care of them both.
In the morning, he got up, had breakfast, and tried to open the front door, but there, blocking the doorway, was a wall of green. He poked his head out of the window and found a beanstalk, but not just any beanstalk. It was HUGE. It was as thick as an oak tree, and its leaves were as big as wagon wheels. It grew up and up and up so high that it touched the clouds, and it just kept going.
Jack wasn’t very clever, but he was quite brave, so he decided to climb. Along the way, he found beans. Lovely green beans that were the sweetest, most delicious beans he had ever tasted, and they were enormous! Each one was as long as one of his legs. Up he went, through the clouds, until his head popped out above them, and what he saw took his breath away.
A magical land above the clouds, where everything was as unnaturally large as the beanstalk. Flowers as big as trees, trees as big as mountains, and a castle as big as… well… an even bigger mountain. Jack had never seen anything bigger than a mountain, so he had nothing to compare it to. Jack took a deep breath and snuck into the castle to explore. Two things were clear about the person that lived there: they were very big, and very rich.
Piles of gold were everywhere, huge golden coins as big as Jack’s face, and solid gold eggs lay scattered across the floor. Jack didn’t waste any time. He picked up as much gold as he could carry (which was only two coins) and ran back to the beanstalk. This was enough gold to buy them a castle of their own! He stopped at the top of the beanstalk and dropped the coins down, knowing they would be waiting at the bottom when he climbed down.
I wish I could say Jack stopped there, but, being Jack, he made a not-very-sensible choice, and he went back for more. Sneaking through the piles of gold, he heard beautiful music, and as he rounded a corner, he saw a beautiful golden harp playing the sweetest music he had ever heard, all by itself. Next to it was a hen. It looked ordinary enough, but as he watched, the hen laid a solid gold egg and then just got up and wandered off as if that was a totally normal thing to do.
Jack stepped closer, but as he did, a deafening voice boomed through the castle. “FEE FI FO FUM! I SMELL THE BLOOD OF AN ENGLISHMAN!” Jack grabbed the hen under one arm and the harp under the other and ran. The voice continued, “BE HE ALIVE OR BE HE DEAD, I’LL GRIND HIS BONES TO MAKE MY BREAD!”
As he neared the beanstalk, the huge castle doors crashed open, and the giantest giant appeared and started to chase Jack, his thunderous footsteps shaking the ground. Jack jumped for the beanstalk and slid down it, still with the hen and the harp tucked under his arms. He slid all the way down, and as he neared the bottom, he could see his mother waiting there for him, shock all over her face.
“Mother, get the axe! Quick!” he shouted. He leaped the last few feet and started hacking at the beanstalk with the axe. He could see the giant’s feet and then legs descending through the clouds.
“WAIT!” shouted the giant. Jack looked up in surprise. “Don’t chop down the beanstalk, you’ll kill me!” Jack didn’t know what to say. That was sort of the point. “I just want my chicken back. You stole her.” The giant sounded sad. “She’s my chicken.” Jack looked at the chicken, and she seemed sad too.
“Just give me the chicken, and I’ll go home, no questions asked. Then you can chop down the beanstalk.” Jack thought for a moment. “Okay,” he said. The giant’s hand came down and carefully picked up the chicken. The chicken squawked at Jack, and Jack reluctantly handed over the harp too.
The giant went back up the beanstalk, and when Jack was sure he was safely back at the top, he chopped the great beanstalk down. Jack and his mother harvested all the incredible beans and sold them at the market, and people came from far and wide to buy them.
Oh, and in case you were wondering about those giant golden coins that Jack threw down? Don’t worry, they found them. And do you know what his mother said? “You really are a very clever boy, Jack.”
Also read: Goldilocks and the Three Bears
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