What is jack and the beanstalk about
A Summary and Analysis of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ – Interesting Literature
LiteratureBy Dr Oliver Tearle
What is the story of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ all about? And what is the moral of this story? It’s one of the best-known and best-loved fairy tales in Britain, and also – as we will see – one of the oldest.
‘Jack and the Beanstalk’: plot summary
First, a very short summary of the plot of the Jack and the beanstalk tale (or a refresher for those who are some way out of the nursery). Jack is a young and rather reckless boy who lives with his widowed mother. They become increasingly poor – thanks partly to Jack’s own carelessness – until the day comes when all they have left is a cow, which Jack’s mother tells him to take to the market to sell for money. Unfortunately, while on his way into town, Jack meets a bean dealer who says he will pay Jack a hat full of magic beans for the cow.
Jack, delighted to have been made an offer on the cow before he’s even reached the market, lives up to his reckless reputation once again and agrees to the deal. He returns home with no cow and no money and only a hat full of beans to show for the journey; his mother, needless to say, is less than happy with this outcome, and hurls the beans out into the garden in her anger. They both retire to bed without having eaten, as they have no food left.
However, when Jack wakes the next morning, he finds that the magic beans scattered across the garden have grown into a giant beanstalk outside his window. He promptly climbs it – as you do – and finds a whole new land at the top. Wandering among this land, Jack comes upon a huge castle and sneaks his way inside. The giant, who owns the castle, returns home and smells Jack, proclaiming: ‘Fee-fi-fo-fum! I smell the blood of an English man: Be he alive, or be he dead, I’ll grind his bones to make my bread.’ Jack steals a sack of gold from the giant’s castle before swiftly making his escape back down the beanstalk.
However, this is a fairy tale, which wouldn’t be complete without obeying the ‘rule of three’.
So, Jack duly climbs the beanstalk twice more and steals from the giant twice more. The giant wakes when Jack is leaving the castle the third time, and chases Jack back down the beanstalk.
The quick-thinking Jack calls for his mother to throw down an axe for him; before the giant reaches the ground, Jack chops down the beanstalk, causing the giant to fall to his death. Jack and his mother live happily ever after, and are never poor or hungry again, thanks to Jack’s burgling skills. Who says crime doesn’t pay?
‘Jack and the Beanstalk’: analysis
‘Jack and the Beanstalk’, like a great number of fairy tales, has a curious and complicated history. The story’s earliest incarnation of in print was as ‘The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean’ in 1734; it underwent some tidying up (with a large dose of moralising added for good measure) in 1807 in Benjamin Tabart’s ‘The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk’, although the elements we most associate with the story were given the definitive treatment in an 1890 version.
All this would suggest that the tale of Jack and the beanstalk is relatively recent, especially when so many other classic fairy tales have medieval prototypes in world literature.
But in fact, researchers at the universities in Durham and Lisbon believe that the essential story of ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ dates back over 5,000 years, or two whole millennia before Homer. This prototype of Jack’s beanstalk antics is classified by folklorists as ATU 328 The Boy Who Stole Ogre’s Treasure. Like ‘Rumpelstiltskin’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’, this story appears to be thousands, rather than hundreds, of years old.
As we implied above, there is something immoral in the story’s essential message: steal from others to get yourself out of poverty, and you will triumph. The killing of the giant is self-defence, admittedly, but we can see why Victorians might have been a little queasy around the central thrust of the story.
So in some versions of the tale, such as the one the Opies include in The Classic Fairy Tales
, a back-story is included, which informs us that the giant actually stole his riches from Jack’s father, whom he killed out of jealousy and greed.
The giant’s wealth, then, is ill-gotten, and Jack, in stealing from him, is in fact only reclaiming what is rightfully his. This addition makes the tale more palatable to younger readers whose parents want to use the fairy tale for moral instruction as well as entertainment, and, after all, Jack is still far from perfect. His lack of foresight and rashness lead to his selling the cow for such a low price.
‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ has endured because it contains so many of the classic ingredients of the fairy tale: the plucky young hero who’s down on his luck, the evil villain, the happy ending. And it’s been around for a long time: if those scholars are correct in their analysis, the original for the story has been around for almost twice as long as Homer’s Iliad. That’s some literary pedigree.
The author of this article, Dr Oliver Tearle, is a literary critic and lecturer in English at Loughborough University. He is the author of, among others, The Secret Library: A Book-Lovers’ Journey Through Curiosities of History and The Great War, The Waste Land and the Modernist Long Poem.
Image: via Wikimedia Commons.
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A children's story. Jack, a poor country boy, trades the family cow for a handful of magic beans, which grow into an enormous beanstalk reaching up into the clouds. Jack climbs the beanstalk and finds himself in the castle of an unfriendly giant. The giant senses Jack's presence and cries, “Fee, fie, fo, fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman!” Outwitting the giant, Jack is able to retrieve many goods once stolen from his family, including an enchanted goose that lays golden eggs.
Jack then escapes by chopping down the beanstalk. The giant, who is pursuing him, falls to his death, and Jack and his family prosper.
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Words nearby “Jack and the Beanstalk”
jack, jack-a-dandy, jackal, jackanapes, “Jack and Jill”, “Jack and the Beanstalk”, jack arch, jackaroo, jackass, jackass bark, jackass brig
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
How to use “Jack and the Beanstalk” in a sentence
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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 bazaar - this is how they lived. 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.
“Well, 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 he did not have time to go far when he met a funny, funny old man, and he said to him:0003
- 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? Is it true? 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.
- Are you back yet, 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 angered his mother, 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, madame, 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,
Will go to 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 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, Mom, 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.
“Oh, Jack,” the mother finished, “to think that the cannibal 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, ma'am! Jack says. “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 oven.
Everything happened just like last time. The ogre came in and said: “Fi-fi-fo-foot…” and so on, had breakfast with three roasted bulls, and then ordered his wife:
- Wife, bring me a chicken - 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 could hear.
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: "Go!" 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.
He 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 mumbling:
— Still, I can swear that… — He jumped up from the table, rummaged through the pantry, and chests, and sideboards…
He searched all the corners, only he didn’t guess 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. The giant was afraid to go down the shaky stalk, but then the harp called again:0003
- Master! Master!
And the giant just hung on the beanstalk, and the beanstalk trembled all under its weight.
Jack descends lower and lower, and the giant follows him. But now Jack is right above the house. Then he screams:
- Mom! Mother! Bring the ax! Bring the ax!
Mother ran out with an ax in her hands, rushed to the beanstalk, and froze in horror: huge legs of a giant stuck out of the clouds.
But then Jack jumped down to the ground, grabbed an ax and hacked at the beanstalk so hard that he almost cut it in half.
The ogre felt the stalk swaying and shaking and stopped to see what had happened. Here Jack strikes with an ax again and completely cuts the beanstalk. The stalk swayed and collapsed, and the ogre fell to the ground and twisted his neck.
Jack gave his mother a golden harp, and they began to live without grieve. And they did not remember about the giant.
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Jack and the Beanstalk.
Read online. Once upon a time there lived a poor widow, and she had only one son, Jack, and a cow Belyanka. The cow gave milk every morning, and the mother and son sold it in the bazaar - this is how they lived. But one time Belyanka did not give milk, and they simply did not know what to do.
— How can we be? How to be? said the mother, wringing her hands.
— Cheer up, mother! Jack said. - I'll get someone to work with.
“You already tried to get hired, but no one hires you,” answered the mother. “No, apparently, we’ll have to sell our Belyanka and open a shop with the proceeds or do some other business.
“Well, 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 so Jack took the reins in his hands and led the cow to the market. But he did not have time to go far, as he met with some wonderful old man.
- Good morning, Jack! said the old man.
— Good morning to you too! - answered Jack, and he himself is surprised: 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 does it take to make five?”
- Exactly two in each hand and one in your mouth! - answered Jack: he was not a small mistake.
- That's right! said the old man. “Look, here they are, those same beans!” - and the old man pulled out a handful of some outlandish beans from his pocket. “And since you’re so smart,” the old man continued, “I’m not averse to swapping with you—beans for you, a cow for me!”
- 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? Is it true? Jack was surprised.
- The real truth! And if not, take your cow back.
- Okay! - Jack agreed: he gave the old man Belyanka, and put the beans in his pocket.
Jack turned back and came home early - it was not yet dark.
- How! Are you back yet, 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 replied.
— Yes, well? Oh my good! Five pounds? Ten? Fifteen? Well, twenty something would 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 fool, such a fool, such an ass, that you gave away my Belyanka, the most dairy cow in the whole area, and besides, smooth, well-fed, for a handful of some bad beans?” It is for you! It is for you! It is for you! And your precious beans - get them out the window! .. Well, now you can sleep well! And don't ask for food - you still won't get a sip or a piece!
And then Jack went up to his attic, to his little room, sad, very sad: he felt sorry for his mother, and he himself was left without supper.
Finally he did fall asleep.
And when I woke up, I barely recognized my room. The sun illuminated only one corner, and around it was dark, dark.
Jack jumped out of bed, got dressed and went to the window. And what did he see? Yes, something like a big tree. And it's his beans that sprouted. In the evening, Jack's mother threw them out of the window into the garden, they sprouted, and the huge stalk stretched and stretched up and up until it grew to the very sky. It turns out that the old man spoke the truth!
The beanstalk grew right next to Jack's window. Here Jack opened the window, jumped on the stalk and climbed up as if on a ladder. And he kept climbing, and climbing, and climbing, and climbing, and climbing, and climbing, until, finally, he reached the very 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 something to eat, please!”
After all, Jack went to bed without supper and was now 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 cannibal, and his favorite food is boys fried in breadcrumbs. You'd better leave while you're safe, otherwise he'll be back soon.
— Oh, madame, I beg you, give me something to eat! Jack didn't hesitate. “I haven’t had a crumb in my mouth since yesterday morning. I speak the true truth. And does it matter if they fry me or I will die of hunger?
I must say that the cannibal was a good woman. She took Jack into the kitchen and gave him a piece of bread and cheese and a pitcher of milk. But before Jack had time to eat even half of breakfast, when suddenly - top! top! top! The whole house shook from someone's footsteps.
- Oh my God! Yes, that's my old man! gasped the cannibal. - What to do? Quickly jump here!
And just as she pushed Jack into the furnace, the ogre himself entered.
Well, he was great - a mountain-mountain! Three calves were dangling from his belt, tied by the legs. The cannibal untied them, threw them on the table and said:
— Come on, wife, fry me a couple for breakfast! Wow! What does it smell like here?
Fi-fi-fo-fam,
I smell the spirit of the British there.
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 still smells like that little boy that we had yesterday for dinner - remember, he came to your taste. 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 ogre did not let him in.
“Wait until he falls asleep,” she said.
After breakfast he always goes to sleep.
And so the ogre had breakfast, then went up to a huge chest, took out two sacks of gold and sat down to count the coins. He counted, counted, finally began to nod off and began to snore, so much so that again the whole house began to shake.
Then Jack slowly got out of the furnace, tiptoed past the ogre, grabbed one bag of gold and God bless! rushed to the beanstalk. He threw the bag down, right into the garden, and he himself began to go down the stem, lower and lower, until, at last, he found himself at his house.
Jack told his mother about everything that happened to him, handed her a bag of gold and said:
— Well, Mom, did I tell the truth about my beans? You see, they are really magical!
And so Jack and his mother began to live on the money that was in the bag. But in the end, the bag was empty, and Jack 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 and climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and climbed, and climbed, until finally he found himself on a familiar road and reached along it to a huge, enormous tall Houses.
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 same boy that came here recently? You know, on that very day my husband lost a bag of gold.
— These are miracles, ma'am! Jack says. “I could really say something about this, 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 in and gave him something to eat. And Jack deliberately began to chew as slowly as possible. But suddenly - top! top! top! - the steps of the giant were heard, and the giantess again hid Jack in the furnace.
Then everything was the same as last time: the ogre came in, said: "Fi-fi-fo-fam..." and so on, had breakfast with three fried bulls, and then ordered his wife:
— Wife, bring me a chicken - the one that lays the golden eggs!
The giantess brought it, and the ogre said to the hen: "Rush!" And she 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 fled in an instant. But then the hen cackled and woke up the ogre. And just as Jack was running out of the house, the giant's voice was heard:
- Wife, hey, wife, don't touch my golden hen!
And his wife answered him:
— What did it seem to you, hubby?
That was 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:
- Run!
And the goose laid a golden egg. Since then, every time Jack told her to “go!”, the hen laid a golden egg.
That's it. But this was not enough for Jack, and soon he again decided to try his luck at the top of the beanstalk. One fine morning he got up early and climbed the beanstalk and climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed until he reached the very top.
True, this time he was careful not to immediately enter the cannibals' house, but crept up to him slowly and hid in the bushes. He waited until the giantess went with a bucket for water, and - sniffed into the house! Climbed into the copper cauldron and waits. He did not wait long; suddenly hears the familiar “top! top! top!” And now the ogre and his wife enter the room.
- Fee-fi-fo-fam, I smell the spirit of the British there! shouted the cannibal. “I can smell it, wife!”
— Can you really hear it, hubby? says the giantess. - Well, if this is the tomboy who stole your gold and the chicken with golden eggs, he certainly is sitting in the stove!
And both rushed to the stove. Good thing Jack didn't hide in it!
- Always you with your "fi-fi-fo-fam!" - said the cannibal. - Yes, it smells like the boy you caught yesterday. I just fried it for you for breakfast. Well, I have a memory! Yes, and you are good too - for so many years you have not learned to distinguish a living spirit from a dead one!
Finally the ogre sat down at the table to have breakfast.
But every now and then he muttered:
“Yes, but still I can swear that ...” and getting up from the table, he searched the pantry, and chests, and supplies ... He searched all the corners and nooks and crannies , only I didn’t think to look into the copper boiler.
But then the ogre had breakfast and shouted:
— Wife, wife, bring me my golden harp! The wife brought the harp and placed it on the table in front of him.
- Sing! the giant ordered the harp.
And the golden harp sang so well that you will listen! And she sang and sang until the ogre fell asleep and began to snore: and he snored so loudly that it seemed like thunder was rumbling.
Here Jack lightly lifted the lid of the boiler. 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 golden harp, and rushed to the door.
But the harp called loudly:
— Master! Master!
The ogre woke up and saw Jack running away with his harp.
Jack ran headlong, and the ogre followed him and, of course, would have caught him, but Jack was the first to rush to the door; besides, he knew the road well. Here he jumped on the beanstalk, and the cannibal catches up. But suddenly Jack disappeared somewhere. The cannibal ran to the end of the road, sees Jack already below - from the last strength in a hurry. The giant was afraid to step on a shaky stalk, stopped, stands, and Jack went down even lower. But then the harp called again:
— Master! Master!
The giant stepped on the beanstalk and the beanstalk shook under his weight.
Here is Jack going down and down, and the ogre behind him. And when Jack got to the roof of his house, he shouted:
— Mom! Mother! Bring the axe, bring the axe! Mother ran out with an ax in her hands, rushed to the beanstalk, and froze in horror: after all, upstairs the giant had already pierced the clouds with his legs. Finally, Jack jumped down to the ground, grabbed an ax and slashed at the beanstalk so hard that he almost cut it in half.
