Jack and the Bean Plant I
Once there was a poor woman. She had one son, whose name was Jack. Jack had no father; a giant had killed him. Jack's mother had one cow, whose milk they sold. They had no money but the money which they got for the milk.
One day the cow gave no more milk. So they had no milk which they could sell; and they had no money with which to get food. Then the woman said, "Which shall we sell, the house or the cow? -- We will sell the cow, and we will get a field with the money which we get for the cow." She called Jack and said to him, "Take the cow and sell her. She is a very good cow: do not take too little money for her."So Jack took the cow and went down the lane, leading the cow.
As he went down the lane Jack saw a man. The man stood and waited; and when Jack came near he said, "That is a good cow: whose cow is it?"Jack said, "It is my mother's cow.""Where are you going with the cow?" asked the man. "I am taking the cow to sell her," said Jack.
The man said, "Will you sell the cow to me?""What will you give me for her?" asked Jack.
"I will give you some beans," said the man. "I do not want beans," said Jack. "I want money.""I have no money," said the man, "but I have some very good beans."Jack said, "If I get beans, I can sell the beans for money." So he asked, "How many beans will you give me for the cow?"The man showed six beans in his hand. He said, "See, I have these six beans: they are very good beans." He put them in Jack's hand.
Jack had never seen beans like those. They were very beautiful; they looked like gold. He said, "I will sell you the cow for these beans. Give me the beans, and take the cow."So the man gave Jack the beans, and took the cow. Jack went home with the six beans in his hand.
Jack's mother was working in the garden. She looked up and said, "You have come back very soon. Why have you come back so soon?"The went into the house.
"I have sold the cow," said Jack.
"Did you get much money for her?" asked his mother.
"I did not sell the cow for money," said Jack; 'but I got some very good things for her. See."And Jack showed his mother the beans.
"What are these?" said his mother.
"Beans," said Jack.
"What beans?" said his mother.
"Beans," said Jack.
"What beans?" said his mother.
"The beans which I got for the cow," said Jack.
"Beans!" she cried, "Beans! Six little beans for my beautiful cow?"She was very angry. "I never heard anything like it!" she cried. "You have taken six little beans for my beautiful cow! We shall get no money for these beans. We have no money at all, and we have no food at all to eat. Soon you will see what you have done: because you will have nothing at all to eat tonight; and there will be no food on the next day, or on the next day after that."She threw the beans out of the window. "That is what I do with your good-for-nothing beans," she cried. "Go to bed, you good-for-nothing boy."Jack went to bed. He was sad because he had made his mother angry. And he was sad because he had got no food to eat; and he was sad because the beautiful cow was gone.… He cried a little. But he soon fell asleep.
Next day, when Jack awoke, he said, "I will find those golden beans. My mother threw them into the garden."He went to the window and looked out into the garden.
The six beans had grown into a big plant; the plant had grown up and up. The top of the plant had grown far up into the sky. Jack could not see the top.
He said, "I will go up to the top of the plant; I want to see what there is in the sky."So Jack went up the bean plant. He went up and up; he looked down and saw the tops of the trees and the red tops of the houses. He saw his mother's house; it looked very little because he was so far up in the sky. But he had not come to the top of the bean plant.
He went up and up; and then he came to the sky at the top. He was up in the sky.
ⅡIn front of Jack was a road. Jack went along the road and came to a big house. He had no food when he went to bed, and he had no food when he awoke; so he wanted some food to eat. He said, "I think they will give me some food at this big house." So he went to the door of the house and called.
A very big old woman opened the door. Jack thought, " She does not look like a very good woman.
"What do you want?" said the old woman.
"I want some food," said Jack.
"Come with me," said the old woman, "and I will give you something to eat."Jack thought, "She wants to catch me; but I will go with her and see what there is in the house."So he went with the old woman into the house. She gave him some bread to eat and some milk to drink. Then she put him in a little room, and said, "My man is a giant. He is coming just now. If you go out of that little room, he will kill you."The giant came into the house. He was very big. He had the body of a dead cow in one hand and a tree in the other hand.… He came into the room; he looked this way and that way; then he said,"Fee, Fi, Fo, Foy!
I smell the smell of a little boy!
Be he alive, or be he dead,I will eat his body with my bread!"The giant's wife said, "There is a little boy in that room. I do not want him to hear what I say. Do not eat him today; he is not fat now: but after two or three days he will be fat, and then I will cook him for you.
Then the giant sat down at the table; his wife brought food and set it on the table, and the giant ate it. When he had eaten he said, "Bring me my money." She brought two boxes full of gold, and put them on the table near him. He opened one of the boxes and looked to see how much gold there was in it. Then he shut his eyes, and very soon the giant was asleep. The giant's wife soon fell asleep too.
When the giant and his wife were asleep, Jack opened the door of the little room and came out. As he went by the giant's table he took one of the boxes of gold. Then he went out of the door and ran along the road. He come to the top of the bean plant. Then he threw the box down. Then he went down the tree. The box had fallen at the foot of the bean plant. He took it and went into the house.
His mother was working at the table. He put the box down on the table, and opened it, and said, "See, mother, this is one of the things that my beans have brought us. And they will soon bring other things too."Six days went by. Then Jack thought, "I will go up the bean plant again."On the next morning he got out of bed; he went up the bean plant again. He came again to the road; he went along it and came to the big house. He called, and again the giant's wife opened the door. When she saw him she said, "Come in, little boy, come into the house."But Jack was afraid; he thought, "No, I will not go in with her, for she wants to catch me: she will put me in that little room, and she will shut the door so that I cannot go out. Then, when I am fat, she will cook me for the giant." So he ran away and hid.
Jack waited near the giant's house. Soon he saw the wife of the giant go out into the garden, for it was morning and she had work to do in the garden. When he saw the giant's wife go into the garden, Jack opened the door of the house and went in. There was a big box in the room. Jack hid in the box.
After an hour, the giant's wife came into the room and began to cook the giant's food. Jack wanted to get out of the box, for the morning was hot and the box was not large. But just then the giant came into the room.
The giant looked this way and that way; then he said,"Fee, Fi, Fo, Foy!
I smell the smell of a little boy!
Be he alive, or be he dead,I will eat his body with my bread!"The giant's wife said, "A little boy came to the house. I wanted to catch him for you, but he ran away.
"I smell the smell of a little boy," said the giant, and he looked here and there; but he could not find Jack. He looked in the little room, but Jack was not there. Then the giant's wife put the food on the table, and the giant began to eat.
When the giant had eaten, he said, "Bring the hen that lays the golden eggs." The giant's wife brought the hen and put it on the table.
The giant said, "Begin."And the hen laid a golden egg.
The giant said, " Lay again!" and the hen laid another golden egg.
Then the giant and his wife began to sleep. Soon the giant laid his head on the table and fell asleep, and his wife was soon asleep too.
Jack came out of the box. The hen was on the table. As Jack went by the table he took the hen, and ran out of the house.
But the hen began to cry out, " Giant! Giant! Run! Run! A little boy is running away with me!"The giant awoke and began to run after Jack. Jack ran and soon came to the top of the bean plant. He went down it.
The giant was big and could not go down so quickly. Jack came to his mother's garden. He called his mother and said, "Quick! Quick! Bring an axe !" His mother ran quickly and brought an axe.
The giant was coming down the bean plant Jack's mother bravely hit at the foot of the plant with the axe: all the plant came down. The giant fell with it. He fell into the garden and was killed.
Jack's mother saw the giant, and she said sadly, "That is the giant who killed your father."Jack and his mother were rich, and lived happily ever after. |