A long time ago, when most of the world was young and folk did what they liked because all things were good, there lived a boy called Jack who lived with his mother. She was a good soul and worked hard from morning until night to support the two of them. She would get up early and milk Bessie, the cow. Then she would churn some of the milk into butter and make cheese with the rest. She and Jack would take the butter and cheese to the market to sell and earn enough money to buy food. This worked well for many years, but one day Bessie stopped giving milk — not one drop! Jack’s mother threw her apron over her head and cried, “What shall we do?”

Jack loved his mother and didn’t like her to be upset, so he said, “I will get a job and we shall have enough money for food again.”

“You’ve tried that before, Jack,” she said, “and nobody would keep you. You are quite a good lad, but sometimes your mind goes a-woolgathering. No, I fear we must sell old Bessie and live on the money she brings in.”

“As you wish, Mother,” said Jack. “Since it is market day, I will go now and try to sell her. She shall bring a good price.”

“Be sure you make a good trade, Jack,” his mother called after him as he and Bessie headed to town.

As Jack walked down the road he wondered how much he would get for Bessie. He would try for 20 gold pieces, which would last them a long time. At the place where the road forked to go into town, Jack saw a strange little old man standing. “Good morning, Jack,” greeted the old man.

“Good morning,” replied Jack, who wondered how the man knew his name.

“That’s a fine animal you have there,” said the little old man.

“This is Bessie, our cow. I am taking her to market to sell because we are poor and she is all we have left,” replied Jack, wondering why this man was so interested.

“Ah, yes!” chuckled the little man. “You are a clever lad and deserve a good bargain! I bet you know how many beans make five.”

“Two in each hand and one in my mouth,” answered Jack readily. He really was a clever lad.

“That’s right!” exclaimed the strange little old man. As he spoke, he took five beans out of his pocket. “Well then, here are five beans for you, and I’ll take Bessie in exchange.”

Jack was so surprised that his mouth hung open and he could not speak. Finally he said, “What? Trade my Bessie for five common beans? You must be joking!”

“Oh, but these are not common beans,” the little man explained. “They are magic beans. If you plant them outside tonight, by morning they will grow right up into the clouds!”

Now, as we know, Jack was a clever lad, and he was not eager to be tricked. “Right up into the clouds, you say?” Jack asked. “Just plant the beans and they will grow overnight? How do I know you are not trying to fool me?”

“I give you my word, Jack,” promised the old man. “If you plant the beans outside tonight and by morning they haven’t grown right up to the clouds, then you meet me here at noon tomorrow, and I will give Bessie back to you. Does that sound fair to you?”

“Sounds good to me,” responded the boy, and he handed Bessie over to the little man. Jack turned back down the road to his home, tossing the five beans into the air and wondering what amazing beans they were. He knew his mother would be pleased with his trade. Imagine! Owning five magic beans that would grow right up to the clouds! He tucked them safely into his pocket and ran the rest of the way home.

His mother was waiting for him when he returned. “Well, it looks like you traded Bessie. What price did she bring, Jack?”she asked, anxious to hear his news.

Jack reached deep into his pocket and produced the five magic beans. Holding them out to her, he said, “These are magic beans that will grow overnight right up to the clouds!”

“What have you done, you foolish boy!” cried his mother. “You have traded our Bessie for five stupid beans? Give them to me!” She grabbed for the beans and threw them right out the window. “You go right up to bed without any supper, young man. You have been tricked good and proper!” Seeing how angry his mother was, he thought it best to do as she said, so he went right to bed.

When he awoke in the morning he ran to his window and was surprised to see the biggest beanstalk he had ever seen, growing right where his mother had thrown the magic beans the night before! Just as the strange old man had said, the beans had taken root and grown into a huge vine, reaching right up into the clouds! Jack was so excited that he ran out into the garden with his pajamas on. He started to climb, and he climbed and he climbed. The beanstalk was easy to climb because the stem had grown very thick and the leaves were growing out of each side like little steps. He soon grew tired of climbing and wondered how far the beanstalk really went. Just a little farther on, he came to the top and saw a dusty road that stretched away into the distance. Being a curious lad, he set out to see where it went.

He walked and he walked until he came to a huge house. Climbing the large stairs, he knocked at the door. A woman answered. Since he hadn’t had any supper the night before, Jack was very hungry. “Good morning, ma’am. I wonder if you could give me some breakfast?” he asked politely.

“Breakfast!” echoed the woman, “If it’s breakfast you’re wanting, you won’t have time to eat it! For the giant will be home any moment and he doesn’t like strange people in his house.”

Jack was not easily scared, and being very clever, he said, “I can eat very fast and be on my way before the giant ever gets home.” But no sooner had he said that, when the whole house started to tremble and shake. It was the giant coming home!

“Quick!” cried the woman. “Hide in the oven!”

Jack just barely had time to jump in and close the oven door when in strode the giant. He was a big one, and there were three sheep strung to his belt, which he threw down on the table.

“Here, woman, roast these little morsels for my breakfast. These are all I’ve been able to find this morning. I may starve before lunch with this bad luck! I hope the oven is hot?”

And he started over to open the oven door, but the woman quickly blocked his way and said, “Roast these sheep? Ach! They would be much juicier if I boiled them.”

As she was preparing them, the giant sniffed the air and said:

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!

“Don’t be silly!” said the woman, thinking quickly. “There is no one here but us. Come, eat your breakfast. That’s a good giant.”

The giant ate the three boiled sheep and when he was done, he asked the woman to bring him the singing harp. She went to a beautiful velvet box, took out the delicate little harp, and placed it on the table in front of the giant.

“Sing!” commanded the giant, and immediately the harp began to sing the most beautiful songs Jack had ever heard. Soon, the lilting melodies made the giant so relaxed that his head started to nod and he quickly fell sound asleep. His snoring was so loud that the whole house trembled. The harp could no longer be heard, so she sat quietly on the table.

Jack, being a clever lad, sensed that this would be a good time to leave, but he had enjoyed the music from the magic harp so much that he wanted his mother to hear it too. So he quickly jumped out of the oven and ran to the table. There he picked up the harp and dashed out the door as fast as his legs would carry him. Down the dusty road he ran, straight to the beanstalk, and scrambled down it so fast, with the harp in his hands, that he nearly fell.

Once on the ground, he ran to show his mother what he had brought from the giant’s house. He put the magic harp down on the table and called his mother into the kitchen. Then he said, “Sing!” and the harp began to sing the most beautiful melodies either of them had ever heard.

After awhile, however, Jack’s mother said, “Jack, this is a lovely harp, but how will it help us to survive? We are out of food and out of money. What will we do?” And she began to weep.

Jack tried to think of what he could do to help and decided that he would climb back up the beanstalk and look around. Up he climbed until he came to the top. He ran back to the giant’s house, and seeing the woman in the kitchen, he hid in the bushes until she went into the pantry. Then he quietly crept in and hid in the wood box next to the oven. Soon the ground began to shake and tremble and the giant appeared in the doorway. This time he had three fat calves strung to his belt. The giant bellowed, “Roast these for my lunch! I am very hungry.” Suddenly he began sniffing the air and said:

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!

“Oh, pish!” said the woman. “There is no one here but us. That boy who stole your harp this morning ran away. If he ever shows up here again, I will cook him for lunch! Speaking of lunch, be a good giant and eat yours.”

After he had eaten the roasted calves, the giant went to his counting table and took out three big bags of gold. He put them on the table and began to count the gold. By and by he grew tired and nodded off to sleep. His snoring was so loud that the whole house shook!

Jack took advantage of his good luck. He jumped out of the wood box, grabbed a bag of the giant’s gold, and ran as fast as his legs would carry him down the dusty road that led to the beanstalk. On his way out the door, he knocked over a glass that crashed loudly on the stone floor. The giant woke up just in time to see Jack disappear down the road with a bag of gold in his hands. He started after him, but Jack disappeared down a beanstalk at the end road and the giant, who was still very tired, gave up and fell back asleep. When Jack reached the ground, he saw his mother picking up gold pieces from the garden where some had fallen out of the bag on the way down. “Where have you been, Jack? It’s raining gold!” said his mother.

“No, Mother,” said Jack, holding up the bag of gold, “those pieces fell out of this bag that I took from the giant. I climbed up the beanstalk again to find something that would help us survive. The giant has so much gold that he will not miss this one little bag.”

They lived very nicely on that gold for a long time, but at last there came a day when the gold was all gone. Jack knew he must find a way to help. Then he remembered the beanstalk. He ran to it and once again, climbed and climbed and climbed. When he reached the top and saw the familiar dusty road, he ran as fast as he could, straight to the giant’s house. Waiting until the woman was out of the kitchen, he hurried in quietly and hid in a copper pot. Soon the familiar rumbling told him that the giant was near. Peeking carefully from a small crack under the lid, Jack saw that the giant had three oxen tied to his belt that morning. But, because giants have such a good sense of smell, he had no sooner entered the kitchen when he said:

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!

“Well, I believe I smell him too!” exclaimed the woman. “It must be that awful boy who stole your harp and then your gold. If so, he’s hiding in the oven.” But when she opened the oven door, Jack wasn’t there! “I guess we were wrong,” said the woman. “There’s no one here.” Then she set about to fix the oxen for the giant.

But the giant wasn’t satisfied, and he kept leaping up saying “Fee, fi, fo, fum” and looking in cabinets and closets. This kept Jack in a state of panic, lest the giant discover him hiding in the copper pot. After the giant had eaten his breakfast, he called to the woman, “Bring me my hen that lays the magic eggs!”

The woman brought him a shiny black hen with a bright red comb. The giant said to the hen, “Lay!” and she promptly laid a beautiful, golden egg! The giant cradled the egg in his huge hands and soon fell asleep.

Jack could hardly believe his eyes as he peeked through a crack under the lid. “With that hen,” he thought to himself, “Mother and I could have all we desire for ever and ever!” He quickly jumped out of the copper pot, grabbed the hen by her legs, and ran for his life! But before they were out of the door, the hen started cackling so loudly that the giant woke up!

“Where’s my hen?” he thundered angrily and looked up just in time to see Jack running down the road with the black hen. Jack was quick, but the giant’s stride was three times as long and when Jack reached the beanstalk first, the giant was only a dozen yards behind him! There was no time to think. He grabbed the vine with his free hand and slid down it like a firepole, holding tightly onto the magic chicken’s legs with his other hand! Jack knew it was life or death, so he slid down even faster and when he neared the ground, he called out to his mother, “Mother! Mother! Come quickly! Bring an axe!”

As luck would have it, his mother was out in the yard chopping wood. Just as Jack landed on the ground, he handed her the magic hen, grabbed the axe, and gave a mighty blow to the base of the beanstalk. Jack was safe at last.

Jack built a special hen house for the magic hen and treated her with love and kindness. In return, she provided him with a golden egg every time he said, “Lay!” She laid enough eggs for everyone in the village to have all their needs supplied, and Jack and his mother lived happily to the end of their days.

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