Jack And The Beanstalk

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Once upon a time, there was a poor woman. She had one son whose name was Jack. Jack whose father was dead, was a lazy boy. He did not like working. He never did any work. So his mother grew poorer and poorer. At last, she had only one cow. She sold the milk of this cow.

One day, the cow gave no more milk. So, they had no milk which they could sell. They had no money to buy rice. Then the poor woman said: "Which shall we sell, our house or our cow?"

Jack said: "Let us sell the cow."

Then the mother said: "This is market day. So take her to town and see how much money you can get for her."

When Jack walked along the road with the cow, he saw a man standing near a house.

"Good morning my lad!" Said the man. "Where are you going to go this fine day?"

"I am going to the market to sell this cow." Said Jack.

Whose cow is it?" Asked the man.

It's my brother's cow." Jack answered.

The man asked: "Will sell the cow to me?"

"What will you give me for her?" Said Jack. The man showed jack some beans which he held in his hands. 

"I will give you these beans for the cow."

"I do not want beans." Said Jack. "I want money."

"But they are not common beans." Said the man. "They are magic beans. If you plant them today, they will grow as high as the sky tomorrow."

Jack said: "Give me the beans and you can take the cow."

The beans looked like gold. When Jack came home, his mother was working in the garden.

"Mother, mother." He cried. "See! I have sold our cow for these beautiful beans." Jack showed his mother the beans.

"Beans." Cried his mother. "Beans! A handful of beans for my beautiful cow. You stupid boy! You have taken some beans for my beautiful cow." She kept on saying. "How could you do that? Off to bed! And you will get no supper tonight."

Jack went to bed. He was sad because his mother was angry. And his mother was sad because she had no money. She sat down on a chair and cried loudly. Jack was crying in his bed but he soon fell asleep. Jack's mother looked at the beans once more and then she threw them out of the window into the garden.

The next morning, when Jack woke up, it was dark in his room. He jumped out of bed and tried to look out of the window. He could not see anything. He dressed quickly and then ran out of the house into the garden. He saw a beanstalk which was higher than his mother's house. The beanstalk was taller than the tallest tree in the forest. Jack could not see the top.

He said: "I will climb to the top of the plant. I want to see what there is in the sky."

When Jack came to the top of the plant, he saw a long straight white road. Jack walked along the road. He began to feel hungry, thirsty and tired. He walked on and on and at last came to big house.

He said: "I think they will give me some food at this big house." 

So he went to the door and knocked. A very big woman opened the door. Jack thought: "She does not look a very good woman."

"Good morning!" Said Jack.

"What do you want?" Asked the woman.

"Will you give me some food, please?" Asked Jack politely.

"No." Said the woman. "My husband is a giant. He like to eat little boy for breakfast. If he sees you, he will eat you up."

"Oh, please Mrs. Giant." Said Jack. "Give me something to eat and hide me when your husband comes home."

The Giant wife took pity on him and gave him some milk to drink and some bread to eat. But suddenly, Jack heard: Thump, thump, thump; he heard a giant walking along the road. The woman took Jack up and put him into a little room.

She said: "My husband is coming home now. If you go out of that little room, he will kill you."

Then the Giant came home. He was very big. He held the body of a dead buffalo in his right hand. In his left hand, he held a tall tree. He came into the room. He sniffed and than he said: "Fee, Fi, Fo, Fum. I smell the blood of a little Englishman. Be he alive of be he dead, I will eat his body with my bread."

"Nonsense." Said his wife. "You are always smelling Englishmen. Sit down quietly and eat your dinner. You see there is no one here."

So the Giant sat down and he was so angry that he could drink three pails of water. Then he called his wife and said: "Bring me my bags of gold." He counted his gold until he grew sleepy. Presently, he began to snore so loudly that the people in the world below said to each other: "Dear me, what a dreadful thunderstorm."

Jack opened the door of the little room quietly and went out of the room. He took one of the bags of gold and ran away with it along the long straight white road, as fast as his legs could carry him. As soon as he reached the top of the beanstalk, he climbed down through the green leaves, down, down, down, till he reached his own little garden again.

"See what I have brought you from the top of the beanstalk." He cried to his mother. Then he poured out all the gold on to the kitchen table.

After a few days, Jack climbed up the beanstalk again. Up and up, and up, he went till he came to the long straight white road. Then he ran along the road till he came to the Giant's castle. As soon as the Giant's wife saw him, she cried: "Go away quickly. If my husband sees you, he will eat you up. He is very angry. He can not find one of his bag of gold."

"Oh, please let me in and give me some breakfast." Asked Jack.

And again the Giant's wife gave him some bread and some milk.

But when he was eating, he heard: thump, thump, thump and the Giant's wife had only time to hide Jack in the cupboard. The Giant came into the room. He sniffed, he listened, he sniffed again and he roared: "Fee, Fi, Fa, Fum. I smell the blood of Englishman. Be he alive or be he dead, I will eat his body with my bread."

"No." Said his wife. "There is no Englishman here. You only smell the buffaloes I have cooked for you."

So the Giant sat down on a chair at the table and began to eat. After sometime, he stopped eating and roared: "Wife, wife, bring me the hen that lays the golden eggs!" The Giant's wife brought the hen and put it on the table. "Lay!" Roared the Giant. And the hen laid a golden egg. The Giant said: "Lay again." The hen laid another golden egg. The the Giant began to grew sleepy and he snored so loudly that the people in the world below said: "There is an earthquake going on somewhere." 

When he was asleep, Jack came out of the cupboard, took the hen and ran out of the room. But the hen began to cry: "Giant, giant, run, run. A little boy is running away with me." The Giant jumped up in a great hurry. He began to run after Jack.

"Wait till I catch you and I shall eat you up alive." He roared. "You have my golden hen." But Jack was not a bit afraid.

"It was your hen; now it is mine." He shouted back. Jack soon reach the top of the beanstalk and down, down, he climbed down.

The Giant was very big and could not climb down quickly. Jack came to his mother's garden. He called his mother and said: "Quick, quick, bring me an axe." Jack saw the Giant beginning to climb down the beanstalk. Jack's mother brought Jack an axe.

Jack cut down the beanstalk with the axe and the plant fell down. The Giant fell with it. He fell into the garden and was dead. Jack's mother saw  the Giant and she said sadly: "That is the Giant who killed your father." Then Jack and his mother were very rich and very happy ever after.