Beanstalk jack story
The Story of Jack and the Beanstalk
Old English Fairy Tale - version written and illustrated by Leanne Guenther
Once upon a time, there lived a widow woman and her son, Jack, on their small farm in the country.
Every day, Jack would help his mother with the chores - chopping the wood, weeding the garden and milking the cow. But despite all their hard work, Jack and his mother were very poor with barely enough money to keep themselves fed.
"What shall we do, what shall we do?" said the widow, one spring day. "We don't have enough money to buy seed for the farm this year! We must sell our cow, Old Bess, and with the money buy enough seed to plant a good crop."
"All right, mother," said Jack, "it's market-day today. I'll go into town and sell Bessy."
So Jack took the cow's halter in his hand, walked through the garden gate and headed off toward town. He hadn't gone far when he met a funny-looking, old man who said to him, "Good morning,
Jack. "
"Good morning to you," said Jack, wondering how the little, old man knew his name.
"Where are you off to this fine morning?" asked the man.
"I'm going to market to sell our cow, Bessy."
"Well what a helpful son you are!" exclaimed the man, "I have a special deal for such a good boy like you."
The little, old man looked around to make sure no one was watching and then opened his hand to show Jack what he held.
"Beans?" asked Jack, looking a little confused.
"Three magical bean seeds to be exact, young man. One, two, three! So magical are they, that if you plant them over-night, by morning they grow right up to the sky," promised the funny little man. "And because you're such a good boy, they're all yours in trade for that old milking cow."
"Really?" said Jack, "and you're quite sure they're magical?"
"I am indeed! And if it doesn't turn out to be true you can have your cow back.
"
"Well that sounds fair," said Jack, as he handed over Bessy's halter, pocketed the beans and headed back home to show his mother.
"Back already, Jack?" asked his mother; "I see you haven't got Old Bess -- you've sold her so quickly. How much did you get for her?"
Jack smiled and reached into his pocket, "Just look at these beans, mother; they're magical, plant them over-night and----"
"What!" cried Jack's mother. "Oh, silly boy! How could you give away our milking cow for three measly beans." And with that she did the worst thing Jack had ever seen her do - she burst into tears.
Jack ran upstairs to his little room in the attic, so sorry he was, and threw the beans angrily out the window thinking, "How could I have been so foolish - I've broken my mother's heart." After much tossing and turning, at last Jack dropped off to sleep.
When Jack woke up the next morning, his room looked strange.
The sun was shining into part of it like it normally did, and yet all the rest was quite dark and shady. So Jack jumped up and
dressed himself and went to the window. And what do you think he saw? Why, the beans he had thrown out of the window into the garden had sprung up into a big beanstalk which went up and up and
up until it reached the sky.
Using the leaves and twisty vines like the rungs of a ladder, Jack climbed and climbed until at last, he reached the sky. And when he got there he found a long, broad road winding its way through the clouds to a tall, square castle off in the distance.
Jack ran up the road toward the castle and just as he reached it, the door swung open to reveal a horrible lady giant, with one great eye in the middle of her forehead.
As soon as Jack saw her he turned to run away, but she caught him, and dragged him into the castle.
"Don't be in such a hurry, I'm sure a growing boy like you would like a nice, big breakfast," said the great, big, tall woman, "It's been so long since I got to make breakfast for a boy.
"
Well, the lady giant wasn't such a bad sort, after all -- even if she was a bit odd. She took Jack into the kitchen, and gave him a chunk of cheese and a glass of milk. But Jack had only taken a few bites when thump! thump! thump! the whole house began to tremble with the noise of someone coming.
"Goodness gracious me! It's my husband," said the giant woman, wringing her hands, "what on earth shall I do? There's nothing he likes better than boys broiled on toast and I haven't any bread left. Oh dear, I never should have let you stay for breakfast. Here, come quick and jump in here." And she hurried Jack into a large copper pot sitting beside the stove just as her husband, the giant, came in.
He ducked inside the kitchen and said, "I'm ready for my breakfast -- I'm so hungry I could eat three cows. Ah, what's this I smell?
Fee-fi-fo-fum,
I smell the blood of an Englishman,
Be he alive, or be he dead
I'll have his bones to grind my bread.
"Nonsense, dear," said his wife, "we haven't had a boy for breakfast in years. Now you go and wash up and by the time you come back your breakfast'll be ready for you."
So the giant went off to tidy up -- Jack was about to make a run for it when the woman stopped him. "Wait until he's asleep," she said, "he always has a little snooze after breakfast."
Jack peeked out of the copper pot just as the giant returned to the kitchen carrying a basket filled with golden eggs and a sickly-looking, white hen. The giant poked the hen and growled, "Lay" and the hen laid an egg made of gold which the giant added to the basket.
After his breakfast, the giant went to the closet and pulled out a golden harp with the face of a sad, young girl. The giant poked the harp and growled, "Play" and the harp began to play
a gentle tune while her lovely face sang a lullaby. Then the giant began to nod his head and to snore until the house shook.
When he was quite sure the giant was asleep, Jack crept out of the copper pot and began to tiptoe out of the kitchen. Just as he was about to leave, he heard the sound of the harp-girl weeping. Jack bit his lip, sighed and returned to the kitchen. He grabbed the sickly hen and the singing harp, and began to tiptoe back out. But this time the hen gave a cackle which woke the giant, and just as Jack got out of the house he heard him calling, "Wife, wife, what have you done with my white hen and my golden harp?"
Jack ran as fast as he could and the giant, realizing he had been tricked, came rushing after - away from the castle and down the broad, winding road. When he got to the beanstalk the giant was only twenty yards away when suddenly he saw Jack disappear - confused, the giant peered through the clouds and saw Jack underneath climbing down for dear life. The giant stomped his foot and roared angrily.
Fee-fi-fo-fum,
I smell the blood of an Englishman,
Be he alive, or be he dead
I'll have his bones to grind my bread.
The giant swung himself down onto the beanstalk which shook with his weight. Jack slipped, slid and climbed down the beanstalk as quickly as he could, and after him climbed the giant.
As he neared the bottom, Jack called out, "Mother! Please! Hurry, bring me an axe, bring me an axe." And his mother came rushing out with Jack's wood chopping axe in her hand, but when she came to the enormous beanstalk she stood stock still with fright.
Jack jumped down, got hold of the axe and began to chop away at the beanstalk. Luckily, because of all the chores he'd done over the years, he'd become quite good at chopping and it didn't
take long for him to chop through enough of the beanstalk that it began to teeter. The giant felt the beanstalk shake and quiver so he stopped to see what was the matter. Then Jack gave one
last big chop with the axe, and the beanstalk began to topple over. Then the giant fell down and broke his crown, and the beanstalk came toppling after.
The singing harp thanked Jack for rescuing her from the giant - she had hated being locked up in the closet all day and night and wanted nothing more than to sit in the farmhouse window and sing to the birds and the butterflies in the sunshine.
With a bit of patience and his mother's help, it didn't take long for Jack to get the sickly hen back in good health and the grateful hen continued to lay a fresh golden egg every day.
Jack used the money from selling the golden eggs to buy back Old Bess, purchase seed for the spring crop and to fix up his mother's farm. He even had enough left over to invite every one of his neighbours over for a nice meal, complete with music from the singing harp.
And so Jack, his mother, Old Bess, the golden harp and the white hen lived happy ever after.
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Jack and the Beanstalk - Storynory
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There was once upon a time a poor widow who had an only son named Jack, and a cow named Milky-White.
All they had to live on was the milk the cow gave every morning, which they carried to the market and sold - until one morning Milky-White gave no milk.
“What shall we do, what shall we do?” said the widow, wringing her hands.
“Cheer up mother, I’ll go and get work somewhere,” said Jack.
“We’ve tried that before, and nobody would take you,” said his mother. “We must sell Milky-White and with the money, start a shop or something.”
“Alright, mother,” said Jack. “It’s market day today, and I’ll soon sell Milky-White, and then we’ll see what we can do.”
So he took the cow, and off he started. He hadn’t gone far when he met a funny looking old man, who said to him, “Good morning, Jack.”
“Good morning to you,” said Jack, and wondered how he knew his name.
“Well Jack, where are you off to?” Said the man.
“I’m going to market to sell our cow there.”
“Oh, you look the proper sort of chap to sell cows,” said the man. “I wonder if you know how many beans make five.
”
“Two in each hand and one in your mouth,” said Jack, as sharp as a needle.
“Right you are,” says the man, “and here they are, the very beans themselves,” he went on, pulling out of his pocket a number of strange looking beans. “As you are so sharp,” said he, “I don’t mind doing a swap with you — your cow for these beans.”
“Go along,” said Jack. “You take me for a fool!”
“Ah! You don’t know what these beans are,” said the man. “If you plant them overnight, by morning they grow right up to the sky.”
“Really?” said Jack. “You don’t say so.”
“Yes, that is so. If it doesn’t turn out to be true you can have your cow back.”
“Right,” said Jack, and handed him over Milky-White, then pocketed the beans.
Back home goes Jack and says to his mother, “You’ll never guess mother what I got for Milky-White.”
His mother became very excited, “Five pounds? Ten? Fifteen? No, it can’t be twenty.”
“I told you that you couldn’t guess. What do you say to these beans? They’re magical.
Plant them overnight and — ”
“What!” Exclaimed Jack’s mother. “Have you been such a fool, such a dolt, such an idiot? Take that! Take that! Take that! As for your precious beans, here they go out of the window. Now off with you to bed. Not a sup shall you drink, and not a bit shall you swallow this very night.”
So Jack went upstairs to his little room in the attic, sad and sorry he was, to be sure. At last he dropped off to sleep.
When he woke up, the room looked so funny. The sun was shining into part of it, and yet all the rest was quite dark and shady. Jack jumped up and went to the window. What do you think he saw? Why, the beans his mother had thrown out of the window into the garden had sprung up into a giant beanstalk which went up and up and up until it reached the sky. So the man spoke truth after all!
The beanstalk grew up quite close past Jack’s window, so all he had to do was to open it and give a jump onto the beanstalk which ran up just like a big ladder.
So Jack climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and he climbed until at last he reached the sky. When he got there he found a long broad road going as straight as a dart. So he walked along, and walked along, and he walked along until he came to a great big tall house, and on the doorstep there was a great big tall woman.
“Good morning, ma’am,” said Jack, quite politely. “Could you be so kind as to give me some breakfast?” For he was as hungry as a hunter.
“It’s breakfast you want, is it?” said the great big tall woman. “It’s breakfast you’ll be if you don’t move off from here. My man is an ogre and there’s nothing he likes better than boys boiled on toast. You’d better be moving on or he’ll be coming.”
“Oh! please mum, do give me something to eat, mum. I’ve had nothing to eat since yesterday morning, really and truly, mum,” said Jack. “I may as well be boiled as die of hunger.”
Well, the ogre’s wife was not half so bad after all, so she took Jack into the kitchen, and gave him a hunk of bread and cheese and a jug of milk.
Jack hadn’t half finished these when thump, thump, thump! The whole house began to tremble with the noise of someone coming.
“Goodness gracious me! It’s my old man,” said the ogre’s wife. “What on earth shall I do? Come along quick and jump in here.” She bundled Jack into the oven just as the ogre came in. He was a big one, to be sure. At his belt he had three calves strung up by the heels, and he unhooked them and threw them down onto the table and said:
"Fee-fi-fo-fum,
I smell the blood of an Englishman,
Be he alive, or be he dead,
I’ll have his bones to grind my bread."
“Nonsense, dear,” said his wife. “You’re dreaming. Or perhaps you smell the scraps of that little boy you liked so much for yesterday’s dinner. Here you go, and have a wash and tidy up. By the time you come back your breakfast’ll be ready for you.”
So off the ogre went, and Jack was just going to jump out of the oven and run away when the woman told him, “Wait till he’s asleep. He always has a doze after breakfast.
” Well, the ogre had his breakfast, and after that he went to a big chest and took out a couple of bags of gold, and down he sat and counted until at last his head began to nod and he began to snore until the whole house shook again.
Jack then crept out on tip-toe from the oven, and as he was passing the ogre, he took one of the bags of gold from under his arm, and off he peltered until he came to the beanstalk, and then he threw down the bag of gold, which of course fell into his mother’s garden. He climbed down and down until at last he got home and told his mother and showed her the gold and said, “Well, mother, wasn’t I right about the beans? They are really magical, you see.”
So they lived on the bag of gold for some time, until at last they came to the end of it, and Jack made up his mind to try his luck once more at the top of the beanstalk. So one fine morning he rose up early, and got onto the beanstalk, and he climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and he climbed until at last he came out onto the road again and up to the great tall house he had been to before.
There, sure enough, was the great tall woman a-standing on the doorstep.
“Good morning, mum,” said Jack, as bold as brass, “could you be so good as to give me something to eat?”
“Go away, my boy,” said the big tall woman, “or else my man will eat you up for breakfast. Aren’t you the youngster who came here once before? Do you know, that very day my man missed one of his bags of gold.”
“That’s strange, mum,” said Jack, “I dare say I could tell you something about that, but I’m so hungry I can’t speak until I’ve had something to eat.”
Well, the big tall woman was so curious that she took him in and gave him something to eat. He had scarcely begun munching it as slowly as he could when thump! thump! They heard the giant’s footstep, and his wife hid Jack away in the oven.
All happened as it did before. In came the ogre as he did before, said, “Fee-fi-fo-fum,” and had his breakfast off three boiled oxen.
Then he said, “Wife, the hen that lays the golden eggs.
” So she brought it, and the ogre said, “Lay,” and it laid an egg all of gold. Then the ogre began to nod his head, and to snore until the house shook. Jack crept out of the oven on tip-toe and caught hold of the golden hen, and was off before you could say “Jack Robinson.” This time the hen gave a cackle which woke the ogre, and just as Jack got out of the house he heard him calling, “Wife, wife, what have you done with my golden hen?”
The wife said, “Why, my dear?” But that was all Jack heard, for he rushed off to the beanstalk and climbed down like a house on fire. When he got home he showed his mother the wonderful hen, and said “Lay” to it; and it laid a golden egg every time he said “Lay.”
Well it wasn’t long before that Jack made up his mind to have another try at his luck up there at the top of the beanstalk. One fine morning he rose up early and got to the beanstalk, and climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and he climbed until he got to the top.
This time he knew better than to go straight to the ogre’s house.
When he got near it, he waited behind a bush until he saw the ogre’s wife come out with a pail to get some water, and then he crept into the house and got into a big copper pot. He hadn’t been there long when he heard thump, thump, thump! As before, and in came the ogre and his wife.
“Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman,” cried out the ogre. “I smell him, wife, I smell him.”
“Do you, my dearie?” said the ogre’s wife. “Then, if it’s that little rogue that stole your gold and the hen that laid the golden eggs he’s sure to have gotten into the oven.” And they both rushed to the oven.
Jack wasn’t there, luckily. So the ogre sat down to the breakfast and ate it, but every now and then he would mutter, “Well, I could have sworn –” and he’d get up and search the larder and the cupboards and everything, only, luckily, he didn’t think of the copper pot.
After breakfast was over, the ogre called out, “Wife, wife, bring me my golden harp.” So she brought it and put it on the table before him.
Then he said, “Sing!” The golden harp sang most beautifully. It went on singing until the ogre fell asleep, and commenced to snore like thunder.
Then Jack lifted up the copper lid very quietly and got down like a mouse and crept on hands and knees until he came to the table, when up he crawled, caught hold of the golden harp and dashed with it towards the door. But the harp called out quite loudly, “Master! Master!” The ogre woke up just in time to see Jack running off with his harp.
Jack ran as fast as he could, and the ogre came rushing after, and would soon have caught him, only Jack had a start and dodged him a bit and knew where he was going. When he got to the beanstalk the ogre was not more than twenty yards away when suddenly he saw Jack disappear. When he came to the end of the road he saw Jack underneath climbing down for dear life. Well, the ogre didn’t like trusting himself to such a ladder, and he stood and waited, so Jack got another start.
Just then the harp cried out, “Master! Master!” and the ogre swung himself down onto the beanstalk, which shook with his weight.
Down climbed Jack, and after him climbed the ogre. By this time Jack had climbed down, and climbed down, and climbed down until he was very nearly home. So he called out, “Mother! Mother! Bring me an axe, bring me an axe!” His mother came rushing out with the axe in her hand, but when she came to the beanstalk she stood stuck still with fright, for there she saw the ogre with his legs just through the clouds.
Jack jumped down and took hold of the axe and gave a chop at the beanstalk which cut it half in two. The ogre felt the beanstalk shake and quiver, so he stopped to see what was the matter. Then Jack gave another chop with the axe, and the beanstalk was cut in two and began to topple over. Then the ogre fell down and broke his crown, and the beanstalk came toppling after.
Jack showed his mother his golden harp, and with showing that and selling the golden eggs, Jack and his mother became very rich, and he married a great princess, and they lived happy ever after.
Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk Legends of Old England Edwin Heartland
Long ago, in a village far, far from London, a poor widow lived for many years.
The widow had only one child named Jack, and she indulged his every whim. This led to the fact that Jack almost did not pay attention to her exhortations and grew up carefree and wasteful. He did stupid things not because of his bad temper, but because his mother never reproached him. Since the widow was not rich, and her son did not work, she had to slowly sell everything they had. Finally, they had only one cow left.
At this point, the widow could not resist reproach and with tears in her eyes said to Jack: “Oh, you nasty boy. Because of your extravagance, we are completely ruined. You are crazy, you are crazy. I don't even have money for a piece of bread. We have nothing left but the poor cow, and we will have to sell it so as not to die of hunger.
Jack felt sorry for his mother, but soon became the same again, and when he was very hungry, he began to persuade the poor thing to let him sell the cow. And the mother reluctantly relented in the end.
On the way to the market, Jack met a butcher who asked him why he was taking the cow out of the house.
Jack replied that he wanted to sell it. The butcher had some beautiful colorful beans with him, which attracted Jack's attention. The butcher noticed this, and, knowing the guy well, decided to take advantage of his frivolity: he offered all the beans for the cow. The stupid guy found the offer very profitable. The deal was immediately closed, the cow was exchanged for a few miserable beans. Jack hurried home, told his mother about the deal, and showed her the beans. She threw the beans away in anger, and they scattered across the garden in all directions.
Early in the morning Jack woke up and saw something very strange outside the window. He hurried into the garden and saw that the beans had taken root and produced wonderful sprouts of immense thickness. The stems are so tightly intertwined that they form something like a ladder.
Looking up, Jack couldn't see the summit as it was lost in the clouds. Jack tried to shake the stem, but it didn't even move, it was so powerful.
The guy had a new idea: climb the beanstalk and see where it takes him. Jack liked this idea so much that he even forgot about the hunger and hurried to tell his mother about his intention.
Then he climbed up the stem and climbed for several hours. He reached the top tired, almost exhausted. Looking around, Jack was surprised to realize that he was in an unfamiliar country, similar to a completely barren desert: nowhere was a tree, a bush, a house, or a living being to be seen.
Jack was sitting on a stone thinking about his mother. Hunger overwhelmed him, and the young man regretted his disobedience, that he had climbed the beanstalk against her will. And now he was waiting for starvation.
Still, he set off, hoping to find a house and ask for some food. Suddenly he noticed in some distance a beautiful young woman. She was dressed very beautifully and held in her hand a white stick with a solid gold cockerel at the end. The beauty approached Jack and said: “I will tell the story that your mother did not dare to tell you.
But first, solemnly promise to do whatever I command. I am a fairy, and if you do not follow my orders exactly, you will deprive me of my magical power, and I will not be able to help you. And you will most likely die." Jack was greatly frightened by this warning, but promised to follow the orders of the fairy.
“Your father was rich and very generous. He never refused to help his neighbors, on the contrary, he was looking for helpless and desperate people. Not far from your father's house lived a huge giant who, with his cruelty, instilled fear in the whole country. This monster was also very envious and did not like it when others were praised for their kindness and decency, and therefore the giant swore to take revenge on your father so that he would no longer hear about his good deeds. Your father was so noble that he did not expect evil from others, so soon the cruel giant found an opportunity to realize his evil plans. Hearing that in a few days your parents would be passing near his palace, he set it up so that your father was ambushed and killed, and your mother was captured on the way to the house.
You were only a few months old when all this happened. Your poor mother almost died of fear when the cruel giant's henchmen threw her into a dungeon in a dungeon under his house. She spent a lot of time with the child in custody. Alarmed by the absence of your parents, the servants went searching, but found no trace of the missing. In the meantime, the giant made it so that a false will was found, and all the property of your father passed to him as your guardian.
After that, your mother spent a few more months in an underground dungeon, and then the giant offered her freedom if she solemnly swears never to tell anyone about her trials. And so that she - if she suddenly breaks the oath - could not harm him, he ordered to put her on a ship and take her to a distant country. There she was left without a livelihood, and she lived only on the proceeds from the sale of jewelry, which she managed to hide in her dress.
When your father was born, I was appointed as his protector, but fairies have laws that they must obey, just like mere mortals.
Shortly before the giant killed your father, I broke the law and was deprived of my magical power for a while. Because of this, unfortunately, I could not help your father in any way, although I wanted it more than anything in the world. The day you were going to sell the cow and you met the butcher, I got my magic power back. I was the one who secretly told you to take the beans in exchange for the cow. It is because of my power that the beanstalk grew so high and formed a staircase. The giant lives in this country, and it is you who are destined to punish him for all his atrocities. Dangers and difficulties await you, but you must persevere and avenge your father's death, or you will never succeed in anything.
As for the giant's riches, they all belong to you by right, although you have been deprived of them until now. So you can take as much as you can carry. However, be careful, for the giant loves gold so much that, as soon as he notices the loss, he becomes angry and will guard it even better in the future.
But you must still pursue him, for only by cunning will you be able to overcome him and seize your wealth and justly punish the giant for the barbaric murder. I only ask of you one thing: do not tell your mother that you know everything about your father until you meet me again.
Go straight ahead, don't turn anywhere, and soon you will see the palace where your sworn enemy lives. As long as you do everything as I say, I will protect and keep you. But remember, if you disobey my orders, a terrible punishment awaits you.
With that, the fairy disappeared and Jack set off again. He walked until sunset, and suddenly, to his great joy, he saw a large palace. Cheered up, he quickened his pace and soon approached the palace. An attractive woman was standing at the door. Jack spoke to her kindly and asked if she would give him a piece of bread and give him shelter for the night. The woman was very surprised at the appearance of Jack and said how strange it was to see a stranger here, for everyone knows that her husband is a very cruel and powerful giant, and besides, he eats people when he manages to catch them.
Jack was very frightened, but, remembering his fairy protector, he hoped to elude the giant and begged the woman to let him in for one night only and hide him where she considered safe. The kind woman finally agreed, for she was very compassionate, and let Jack into the house.
First they got into a huge, beautifully furnished hall, then they passed several spacious and equally majestic rooms, which seemed, however, completely abandoned. Then they found themselves in a long, very dark gallery, where instead of walls there were iron bars. Beyond the bars stretched a gloomy dungeon, from which came the groans of the unfortunate victims, reserved by the giant in case he had an appetite. Poor Jack was horrified, thinking that he would never see his mother again and end his life in the stomach of a giant. However, he still remembered the fairy and kept a faint hope in his heart.
A kind woman took Jack to a spacious kitchen, where a fire was burning under a huge cauldron, sat him down and gave him a good meal and drink.
Satisfied, Jack enjoyed the rest, but suddenly they began to knock on the gate, so loudly that the whole house trembled. Jack hid in the oven, and the giant's wife hurried to let her husband into the house.
Jack heard the giant's thunderous voice:
- Wife! Wife! I smell fresh human flesh!
“Oh, dear,” answered the wife. “It is the smell of those people who are in prison.
The giant seemed to believe and sat down by the fire, while his wife began to prepare dinner for him.
Jack slowly grew bolder and looked at the monster through a small crack. His amazement knew no bounds when he saw how much food and drink the giant absorbs. It seemed like he would never get enough. But in the end, the dinner was over, and a very funny chicken appeared on the table in front of the giant. And then a miracle happened. The hen stood calmly in front of the giant, and every time he said: “Rush!” The hen laid an egg of pure gold. The giant's wife had long since gone to bed, and he played with his chicken for a long time.
At last he too fell asleep and snored as if a cannon had been fired. At dawn, while the giant was still asleep, Jack got out of his hiding place, grabbed the chicken and rushed away with her as fast as he could.
Jack easily found his way to the beanstalk, and the descent was easier and faster than he expected. The mother was very happy to see her son. “You see, mother,” said Jack, “I brought home something that will make you rich.” The hen laid as many golden eggs as they wanted, and they sold the eggs and soon became rich.
Jack and his mother lived very happily for several months, but Jack was eager to visit the giant again. Early one morning, he climbed the beanstalk again and reached the giant's palace late in the evening. The woman, as before, stood at the door. Jack told her a pitiful story and asked for a place to sleep. The woman said that she somehow sheltered a poor hungry boy, and an ungrateful scumbag stole one of the giant's treasures, and now he treats her very badly.
Nevertheless, the woman led Jack into the kitchen, fed him dinner and hid it in the closet where the firewood was stored. Soon the giant returned home, had supper and ordered his wife to bring sacks of gold and silver. Jack peeped from his hiding place and saw how the giant counted his treasures, and then put them back into the bags. At last the giant fell asleep and began to snore, as before. Jack quietly got out of his hiding place and approached the giant, but suddenly a small dog barked furiously under the chair. However, the giant did not wake up, and the dog calmed down. Jack grabbed the bags, made it safely to the door, and was soon standing at the foot of the beanstalk. When he entered his mother's house, he did not find anyone there. Surprised, he ran to the village, and one old woman showed him the house where his mother lay dying. Hearing that our hero returned safe and sound, his mother regained her zest for life and soon recovered. Then Jack gave her two bags of gold and silver.
Everything would be fine, but Jack's mother felt that something was eating him and tried to find out the reason, but Jack remembered very well what would happen if he told about the reason for his sadness. He struggled to overcome the urge to take another trip up the beanstalk.
On the longest day of the year, Jack woke up at dawn, climbed the beanstalk, and effortlessly made it to the top. He found his way, and towards evening reached the giant's palace, and, as before, saw his wife at the door. Jack changed his appearance so much that the woman did not recognize him. However, when he began to ask for a lodging for the night, he convinced her with great difficulty. In the end, the woman allowed him to enter and hid him in a copper cauldron.
Returning home, the giant growled as usual: “Wife! Wife! I smell fresh human flesh!” Jack had heard it before, so he wasn't afraid. However, the giant suddenly jumped up and, ignoring his wife's exhortations, began to search the kitchen.
As he approached, Jack became more and more afraid, cursing himself for having come here, and was ready to die of fear. The giant reached the cauldron and grabbed the lid. Jack decided that his death had come, but, fortunately, at this the giant stopped his search and, without lifting the lid, calmly sat down by the fire.
After finishing his supper, the giant ordered his wife to bring his harp. Jack peered from under the lid of the cauldron and soon saw the most beautiful sight imaginable. The giant put the harp on the table and said, "Play," and the harp immediately began to play on its own. The music was amazingly beautiful. Jack was delighted and wanted to own the harp even more than the previous treasures.
The giant's soul did not strive for beauty, the music lulled him to sleep, and soon he fell asleep soundly. Moreover, he seemed to be sleeping even more soundly than before, and it was time to take the harp away. Jack made up his mind, got out of the cauldron and grabbed the harp.
However, the harp turned out to be enchanted and shouted loudly: “Master, master!”
The giant woke up, jumped up and tried to grab Jack, but he was so drunk that he could not stand on his feet. Jack ran away as fast as he could. Soon the giant came to his senses and hobbled, or rather, wandered, staggering, after Jack. If he had been sober, he would have immediately caught up with Jack, but because he was drunk, Jack managed to get to the top of the beanstalk first. The giant called loudly all the way to him and in places got very close.
As soon as Jack descended the beanstalk, he called for an ax to be brought to him, which was promptly done. The moment the giant began to descend, Jack cut down the beanstalk to the very root, and the giant collapsed into the garden upside down. And he died on the spot.
Jack sincerely apologized to his mother for all the grief he had caused her and promised to be obedient and respectful in the future. He fulfilled his promise and became an exemplary loving and considerate son.
Jack and the beanstalk is an English fairy tale. The story of the boy Jack.
A tale about a poor widow's son, Jack, who traded his family's only breadwinner, a cow, for magic beans. With the help of them and their ingenuity, Jack and his mother got rich.
Once upon a time there lived a poor widow. She had an only son named Jack and a cow named Belyanka. The cow gave milk every morning, and the mother and son sold it in the market - that's what they lived on. But suddenly Belyanka stopped milking, and they simply did not know what to do.
— How can we be? What to do? the mother repeated in despair.
— Cheer up, mother! Jack said. - I'll get someone to work with.
— Yes, you already tried to get hired, but no one hires you, — answered the mother. “No, apparently, we will have to sell our Belyanka and open a shop with this money.
“Okay, Mom,” Jack agreed. - Today is just a market day, and I will quickly sell Belyanka. And then we'll decide what to do.
And Jack took the cow to the market. But before he had gone far, he met a funny, funny old man, and he said to him:
— Good morning, Jack!
— Good morning to you too! - Jack answered, and was surprised to himself: how does the old man know his name.
— Well, Jack, where are you going? asked the old man.
- To the market, to sell a cow.
— Yes, yes! Who should trade cows if not you! the old man laughed. “Tell me, how many beans do I have?”
- Exactly two in each hand and one in your mouth! - answered Jack, apparently, not a small mistake.
- That's right! said the old man. “Look, here are those beans!” And the old man showed Jack some strange beans. “Since you’re so smart,” the old man continued, “I’m not averse to trading with you—I’m giving these beans for your cow!”
— Go on your way! Jack got angry. “That would be better!”
"Uh, you don't know what beans are," said the old man. “Plant them in the evening, and by morning they will grow to the sky.
— Yes, well? Truth? Jack was surprised.
- The real truth! And if not, take your cow back.
- Coming! - Jack agreed, gave the old man Belyanka, and put the beans in his pocket.
Jack turned back home, and since he did not have time to go far from home, it was not dark yet, and he was already at his door.
— How are you back, Jack? mother was surprised. - I see Belyanka is not with you, so you sold her? How much did they give you for it?
- You'll never guess, Mom! Jack answered.
— Yes, well? Oh my good! Five pounds? Ten? Fifteen? Well, twenty something will not give!
- I said - you can't guess! What can you say about these beans? They are magical. Plant them in the evening and...
— What?! cried Jack's mother. “Are you really such a simpleton that you gave my Belyanka, the most milking cow in the whole area, for a handful of some bad beans?” It is for you! It is for you! It is for you! And your precious beans will fly out the window.
So that! Now live to sleep! And don’t ask for food, you won’t get it anyway - not a piece, not a sip!
And then Jack went up to his attic, to his little room, sad, very sad: he made his mother angry, and he himself was left without supper. Finally, he did fall asleep.
And when he woke up, the room seemed very strange to him. The sun illuminated only one corner, and everything around remained dark, dark. Jack jumped out of bed, dressed and went to the window. And what did he see? What a strange tree! And these are his beans, which his mother threw out of the window into the garden the day before, sprouted and turned into a huge bean tree. It stretched all the way up, up and up to the sky. It turns out that the old man was telling the truth!
The beanstalk grew just outside Jack's window and went up like a real staircase. So Jack had only to open the window and jump onto the tree. And so he did. Jack climbed the beanstalk and climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed until he finally reached the sky.
There he saw a long and wide road, as straight as an arrow. I went along this road and kept walking and walking and walking until I came to a huge, huge tall house. And at the threshold of this house stood a huge, enormous, tall woman.
— Good morning, ma'am! Jack said very politely. “Be so kind as to give me breakfast, please!”
After all, the day before Jack had been left without supper, you know, and now he was as hungry as a wolf.
— Would you like to have breakfast? - said a huge, enormous, tall woman. “You yourself will get another for breakfast if you don’t get out of here!” My husband is a giant and a cannibal, and he loves nothing more than boys fried in breadcrumbs.
— Oh, ma'am, I beg you, give me something to eat! Jack didn't hesitate. “I haven’t had a crumb in my mouth since yesterday morning. And it doesn't matter if they fry me or I'll die of hunger.
Well, the ogre's wife was not a bad woman after all. So she took Jack to the kitchen and gave him a piece of bread and cheese and a jug of fresh milk.
But before Jack had time to finish with half of all this, when suddenly - top! Top! Top! - the whole house even shook from someone's steps.
- Oh my God! Yes, that's my old man! gasped the giantess. - What to do? Hurry, hurry, jump over here!
And just as she pushed Jack into the oven, the ogre himself entered the house.
Well, he was really great! Three calves dangled from his belt. He untied them, threw them on the table and said:
— Come on, wife, fry me a couple for breakfast! Wow! What does it smell like?
Fi-fi-fo-foot,
I smell the spirit of the British here.
Whether he is dead or alive,
He will be included in my breakfast.
— What are you, hubby! his wife told him. - You've got it. Or maybe it smells like that lamb that you liked so much yesterday at dinner. Come on, wash your face and change, and in the meantime I will prepare breakfast.
The ogre came out and Jack was about to get out of the oven and run away, but the woman wouldn't let him.
“Wait until he falls asleep,” she said. He always likes to take a nap after breakfast.
And so the giant had breakfast, then went up to a huge chest, took out two sacks of gold from it and sat down to count the coins. He counted and counted, finally began to nod off and began to snore so that the whole house began to shake again.
Then Jack slowly got out of the oven, tiptoed past the sleeping ogre, grabbed one bag of gold and God bless! — straight to the beanstalk. He dropped the bag down into his garden, and he began to descend the stem, lower and lower, until at last he found himself at home.
Jack told his mother about everything, showed her a bag of gold and said:
— Well, mother, did I tell the truth about these beans? You see, they are really magical!
“I don’t know what these beans are,” answered the mother, “but as for the cannibal, I think it’s the one who killed your father and ruined us!”
And I must tell you that when Jack was only three months old, a terrible ogre appeared in their area.
He grabbed anyone, but especially did not spare the kind and generous people. And Jack's father, although he was not rich himself, always helped the poor and the losers.
“Ah, Jack,” the mother finished, “to think that an ogre could eat you too!” Don't you dare climb that stem ever again!
Jack promised, and they lived with their mother in full contentment with the money that was in the bag.
But in the end the bag was empty, and Jack, forgetting his promise, decided to try his luck at the top of the beanstalk one more time. One fine morning he got up early and climbed the beanstalk. He climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and climbed, until he finally found himself on a familiar road and reached along it to a huge, enormous tall house. Like last time, a huge, enormous, tall woman was standing at the threshold.
“Good morning, ma'am,” Jack told her as if nothing had happened. “Be so kind as to give me something to eat, please!”
- Get out of here, little boy! the giantess replied.
“Or my husband will eat you at breakfast.” Uh, no, wait a minute, aren't you the youngster who came here recently? You know, on that very day my husband missed one sack of gold.
— These are miracles, madame! Jack says. “It’s true, I could tell you something about it, but I’m so hungry that until I eat at least a piece, I won’t be able to utter a word.
The giantess was so curious that she let Jack into the house and gave him something to eat. And Jack deliberately began to chew slowly, slowly. But suddenly - top! Top! Top! they heard the steps of the giant, and the kind woman again hid Jack in the furnace.
Everything happened just like last time. The ogre came in and said, “Fi-fi-fo-foot…” and so on, breakfasted on three fried bulls, and then ordered his wife:
— Wife, bring me a hen — the one that lays the golden eggs!
The giantess brought it, and he said to the hen: “Come on!” And the hen laid a golden egg. Then the cannibal began to nod and began to snore so that the whole house shook.
Then Jack slowly got out of the oven, grabbed the golden hen and was out the door in no time. But then the hen cackled and woke up the ogre. And just as Jack was running out of the house, he heard the giant's voice behind him:
— Wife, leave the golden hen alone! And the wife answered:
- Why are you, my dear!
That's all Jack heard. He rushed with all his might to the beanstalk and almost flew down it.
Jack returned home, showed his mother the miracle chicken and shouted: "Rush!" And the hen laid a golden egg.
Since then, every time Jack told her, "Rush!" The hen laid a golden egg.
Mother scolded Jack for disobeying her and going to the cannibal again, but she still liked the chicken.
And Jack, a restless guy, after a while decided to try his luck again at the top of the beanstalk. One fine morning he got up early and climbed the beanstalk.
Climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed until he reached the very top.
True, this time he acted more carefully and did not go straight to the cannibal's house, but crept up slowly and hid in the bushes. I waited until the giantess came out with a bucket for water, and darted into the house! I climbed into the copper cauldron and waited. He didn’t wait long, suddenly he hears the familiar “top! Top! Top!", and now the ogre and his wife enter the room.
- Fi-fi-fo-foot, I smell the spirit of the British here! shouted the cannibal. “I can smell it, wife!”
— Can you really hear it, hubby? says the giantess. “Well, then, this is the tomboy who stole your gold and the goose with golden eggs. He's probably in the oven.
And both rushed to the stove. Good thing Jack wasn't hiding there!
- Always you with your fi-fi-fo-foot! grumbled the ogre's wife, and began preparing breakfast for her husband.
The ogre sat down at the table, but still could not calm down and kept muttering:
— Still, I can swear that… — He jumped up from the table, ransacked the pantry, and chests, and cupboards…
He searched all the corners, only he didn’t think to look into the copper cauldron.
Finally finished breakfast and shouted:
- Hey, wife, bring me a golden harp! The wife brought the harp and put it on the table.
- Sing! the giant ordered the harp.
And the golden harp sang so well that you will hear it! And she sang and sang until the ogre fell asleep and snored like thunder.
It was then that Jack lightly lifted the lid of the cauldron. He got out of it quietly, quietly, like a mouse, and crawled on all fours to the very table. He climbed onto the table, grabbed the harp, and rushed to the door.
But the harp called loudly:
— Master! Master!
The ogre woke up and immediately saw Jack running away with his harp.
Jack ran headlong, and the giant followed him. It cost him nothing to catch Jack, but Jack was the first to run, and therefore he managed to dodge the giant. And besides, he knew the road well. When he reached the bean tree, the ogre was only twenty paces away. And suddenly Jack was gone. Cannibal here, there - no Jack! Finally, he thought to look at the beanstalk and sees: Jack is trying with his last strength, crawling down.
