| Category: | European Tales |
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Once upon a time, in a small village, there lived a poor widow and her young son named Jack. They were so poor that they owned nothing but a small, scrawny cow. One day, when the cow stopped giving milk, Jack's mother said, "Jack, take the cow to market and sell her. Use the money to buy food so we can eat."
Jack set off to the market, leading the cow along the dusty road. As he walked, he met a strange old man who looked at the cow and said, "I'll buy your cow, Jack, but I don't have any money. I have something even better—magic beans!"
Jack, being curious and full of wonder, asked, "Magic beans? What do they do?"
The old man leaned in and whispered, "Plant these beans, and by morning, they'll grow into a beanstalk that reaches the sky. Up there, you'll find riches beyond your wildest dreams!"
Jack thought for a moment. He imagined his mother's disappointment if he came home with just beans. But the thought of magic was too tempting to resist. "Alright," Jack said, handing over the cow's rope. The old man smiled and placed five shiny beans in Jack's hand.
Jack ran home and showed his mother the beans. "Magic beans!" he exclaimed. But his mother was furious. "Magic beans? We needed money, not silly beans!" In her anger, she threw the beans out the window and sent Jack to bed without supper.
That night, as Jack lay in bed, he wondered if he had made a terrible mistake. But when he woke up the next morning, he couldn't believe his eyes! Outside the window, where the beans had landed, a gigantic beanstalk stretched up into the sky, disappearing into the clouds. Jack felt a surge of excitement and quickly climbed out the window. He grabbed onto the thick, green stalk and began to climb.
He climbed higher and higher, past birds and clouds, until he reached the top. There, he found himself standing in front of a massive castle. Gathering his courage, Jack crept through the huge gates and into the castle. Everything inside was gigantic—tables, chairs, even the crumbs on the floor were bigger than his fist!
Jack wandered into a great hall and saw a giantess stirring a huge pot. He hid behind a curtain as the giantess sang softly to herself. Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and a deep voice rumbled through the air: "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!"
Jack peered around the curtain and saw an enormous giant stomping into the hall. He was tall as a tower, with a beard as thick as a forest. "Calm down, dear," the giantess said, waving a hand. "There's no one here but you and me." The giant grumbled and sat down at the table.
The giantess served him a huge meal of roasted meats and bread. When the giant finished eating, he pulled out a sack of gold coins and began to count them, his giant fingers flicking the coins one by one. Slowly, his eyelids drooped, and before long, he fell fast asleep, his snores shaking the castle walls.
Jack knew this was his chance. As quietly as a mouse, he tiptoed out from his hiding place, snatched a few gold coins, and stuffed them into his pockets. Then he hurried back to the beanstalk and climbed down as fast as he could. "Mother, look!" Jack cried as he burst through the door. "We're rich! We'll never be hungry again!"
His mother was overjoyed, but Jack's curiosity wasn't satisfied. A few days later, he climbed the beanstalk again. This time, he found a golden harp that could sing by itself and a hen that laid golden eggs. Jack took them both, but just as he was leaving, the harp cried out, "Master! Help!"
The giant woke with a start and roared, "Thief! I'll catch you!" He ran after Jack, his heavy footsteps shaking the ground. Jack scrambled down the beanstalk, the harp clutched under one arm and the hen under the other. The giant began to climb down after him, but Jack was too quick.
When Jack reached the bottom, he shouted, "Mother! Get the axe!" His mother ran out with the axe, and Jack began chopping at the base of the beanstalk. The giant, now halfway down, bellowed in anger. But with one final swing, Jack chopped through the beanstalk. The giant let out a mighty cry as he tumbled down, crashing to the ground with a tremendous thud.
The beanstalk was gone, and so was the giant. Jack and his mother hugged each other tightly. "We'll be fine now, Mother," Jack said softly. "We have the hen that lays golden eggs and the singing harp. We'll never want for anything again."
And so, Jack and his mother lived happily ever after, never hungry, never poor, and always a little wiser about the magic of a few beans and the courage of a brave heart.