Jack and his mother needed money, so she asked him to sell their cow. Jack traded it for magic beans instead. His mother was upset and tossed the beans outside. By morning, a beanstalk reached the clouds. Jack climbed it and found a giant's castle. Inside was a singing golden harp. The giant saw Jack and told him to leave. Jack hurried down the stalk. He told his mother what he had seen, and they decided not to return to the giant's home. Their garden, fed by the beanstalk's beans, helped them through the year.
A First Stories tale
Jack and the Beanstalk
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Open this version in the audiobook shelfJack traded a cow for magic beans. His mother was surprised. Overnight, a giant beanstalk grew outside their window. Jack climbed up and met a giant who guarded a golden harp. Jack listened to its music, then climbed safely home. He and his mother grew beans from the seeds and shared their harvest.
Jack and his mother needed money, so she asked him to sell their cow. Jack traded it for magic beans instead. His mother was upset and tossed the beans outside. By morning, a beanstalk reached the clouds. Jack climbed it and found a giant's castle. Inside was a singing golden harp. The giant saw Jack and told him to leave. Jack hurried down the stalk. He told his mother what he had seen, and they decided not to return to the giant's home. Their garden, fed by the beanstalk's beans, helped them through the year.
Jack's mother asked him to sell their cow so they could buy food. On the way to market, a stranger offered Jack a handful of magic beans. Jack made the trade, believing the beans could help. His mother was disappointed and dropped them outside. In the morning, a giant green stalk rose beyond the roof.
Jack climbed until he reached a castle above the clouds. There he saw a golden harp that could sing, but it belonged to a giant. The giant was alarmed to find a visitor in his home. Jack ran back toward the beanstalk and climbed down before the giant reached him. Mother and son agreed that entering the castle had been a mistake. They could not keep what belonged to someone else. Instead, they tended the strange beanstalk and gathered its beans. Their crop gave them food to share and seeds to plant next spring.
The family's last cow had stopped giving milk, so Jack's mother sent him to market. She hoped its sale would pay for food. Jack met a traveler who promised that a handful of beans was worth far more than the cow. Jack believed him and traded. His mother felt betrayed. She threw the beans into the garden, and neither slept well that night.
At dawn, a beanstalk rose into the clouds. Jack climbed it, eager to prove the traveler had told the truth. At the top stood a castle. He entered and found a harp that played beautiful music by itself. He also found the giant who owned the place. The giant demanded to know why a stranger was in his hall. Jack, suddenly aware that wonder did not excuse trespassing, fled. The giant followed him to the beanstalk, but Jack descended first.
Jack told his mother everything. He had found magic, yet no quick fortune. Together they decided to grow the beanstalk's beans and sell their own harvest. The work was slower than a treasure hunt, but it was honest, and it fed them. Jack learned to ask questions before making a bargain, especially when someone promised something for almost nothing.
Jack was sent to market with a clear task: sell the family's cow for enough money to buy food. The animal no longer gave milk, and winter stores were running low. A traveler offered Jack a handful of “magic” beans instead. Jack imagined an easy answer to every worry at home and agreed. His mother saw only a lost cow and dropped the beans outside in frustration.
By morning, a beanstalk towered through the clouds. Jack climbed, hoping to bring back proof that his gamble had been wise. Above the clouds he found a castle, a golden harp that could sing, and the giant who owned both. Jack had entered without permission. When the giant discovered him, he thundered for Jack to leave. Jack did not argue; he rushed back down the stalk.
At home, he admitted that he had been dazzled twice: first by the traveler's promise, then by the giant's possessions. Neither had solved the family's problem. Mother and son examined the beanstalk, gathered its beans, and planted them in rows. The unusual crop grew well, and they shared some seed with their neighbors. Jack's journey had shown him that a marvelous thing can still demand ordinary judgment. A bargain should be understood before it is made, and a stranger's treasure remains that stranger's treasure.
Inspired by English Fairy Tales, collected by Joseph Jacobs. This text is a new adaptation.