There was a young boy named Jack who lived with his mother on a tiny farm near the Foggy Mountains. They were very poor and only had one cow named Bess. They sold Bess’s milk to make money.
One morning, Jack’s mother woke him up early. She was upset and said, “Jack, you need to go to the market and sell our cow, Bess.” Jack was surprised and asked why. His mother explained that they needed money to fix their house because winter was coming, and their house was falling apart.
Jack took Bess and headed to the market. On the way, he met an old man who offered him five black beans for the cow. The man said they were magic beans worth more than gold. Jack thought about how happy his mother would be if they were rich, so he agreed to the trade.
When Jack got home, he showed his mother the beans. She was very angry and threw them out the window. Jack felt sad and foolish because now they had no cow and no money.
The next morning, Jack saw a huge beanstalk growing outside. It reached all the way up to the clouds! Jack decided to climb it to see if the beans were truly magic.
At the top of the beanstalk, Jack found a castle. He was very hungry, so he knocked on the door. A kind giantess opened the door and gave him some food. But then her husband, the giant, came home, and Jack had to hide because the giant didn’t like humans.
While hiding, Jack saw the giant counting gold coins. He also saw a hen that laid golden eggs and a magic harp that played music by itself. Jack decided to take these treasures to help his mother.
Jack took the gold coins, the hen, and the harp. But the harp shouted for help, waking the giant. Jack ran as fast as he could, with the giant chasing him. Jack reached the beanstalk and climbed down quickly.
Once on the ground, Jack grabbed an axe and chopped down the beanstalk. The giant fell and landed far away, unable to return to his castle.
Jack and his mother became very rich and lived comfortably. But Jack often felt sad because he missed the giant and his wife. He wanted to apologize for taking their treasures.
When Jack was old, he decided to find the giant and make things right. He had one last magic bean and hoped to grow a new beanstalk. No one knows if he found the giant, but some say you can hear the giants dancing in the clouds during a thunderstorm.
Bean Planting Experiment: Let’s explore the magic of beans! Plant your own beans at home or in the classroom. Use a clear plastic cup, some soil, and a bean seed. Water it regularly and place it near sunlight. Observe how the bean grows over time. Keep a journal to draw and write about the changes you see each day. How tall does your beanstalk grow? What do you think would happen if you planted a magic bean like Jack?
Role-Playing Adventure: Imagine you are Jack climbing the beanstalk. What treasures would you find at the top? Gather some friends or family members and act out your own version of the story. Create props using household items to represent the treasures, like a toy hen or a pretend harp. Discuss how you would feel if you were Jack and what you would do differently.
Treasure Hunt at Home: Go on a treasure hunt in your house or backyard. Make a list of items to find, such as something shiny, something that makes noise, or something that looks like a golden egg. Once you find all the items, think about why Jack might have chosen to take the treasures he did. What would you choose to take if you were in Jack’s shoes, and why?
**Jack and the Beanstalk**
(A version of the tale by TheFableCottage.com)
Once there was a young man named Jack. He lived with his mother on a small farm at the foot of the Foggy Mountains. Jack and his mother were very poor. Their only way of making money was selling the milk from their cow, Bess.
One morning, Jack’s mother woke him up early. It was still dark outside. She was upset. “Jack, wake up! Go to the market today and sell our cow, Bess.”
“But why?” asked Jack, yawning.
“We need money to fix our house. There are holes in the roof, the windows are broken, and we have no front door. Winter is coming soon. If we don’t fix the house, we will be in trouble!”
Jack packed his bag and fetched Bess from the barn. As he was walking out the gate, he heard his mother shout, “She is worth at least five gold coins! Don’t sell her for less!”
When Jack was halfway to the market, he met an old man. “Good morning, my boy!” said the old man. “Where are you going today?”
“Good morning, sir,” replied Jack. “I’m going to the market to sell my cow. Her name is Bess.”
“She is a beautiful cow,” said the man. “I will buy Bess, and I will give you a very good deal!”
“How much will you pay for her? I won’t take less than five gold coins!” said Jack.
“I don’t have five gold coins,” whispered the man. “But I have these five black beans! These beans are magic beans! They are worth more than gold! If you take these beans, you will be richer than the richest man in the world.”
Jack thought about his mother and how happy she would be if they were rich. They could fix the roof, the windows, and the front door. Maybe they could buy a new cow!
“Okay,” said Jack. “You’ve got a deal. Give me the beans!”
Jack was very excited. He ran home and showed his mother the beans. But instead of being happy, she was furious. “You foolish boy! You traded our only cow for a handful of beans?!”
She took the beans and threw them out the window. Then she sat down beside the fire and cried. Jack was devastated. He shut himself in his bedroom, feeling very foolish. They no longer had a cow, and now they were poorer than before. What a disaster! And it was his fault!
The next morning, when Jack opened the curtains, he saw something very strange. In the same place where his mother had thrown the beans, there was a giant, green beanstalk. It stretched from the ground, up, up, up… all the way to the clouds.
“The beans really are magic!” whispered Jack. “The old man was telling the truth!” Jack’s mother was still asleep, so Jack decided to climb the beanstalk to look for the riches the old man had described. “Just five gold coins,” thought Jack. That’s all I need to make my mother happy.
Jack climbed up, up, up, higher and higher into the clouds. When he reached the top, he was very hungry. He saw a castle in the distance. “Maybe I can find something to eat in that castle…” he thought.
Jack walked up to the door of the castle and knocked twice. A giantess opened the door. She was as big as a house, but she had a warm smile and gentle eyes. “Excuse me, Mrs. Giant,” said Jack. “Could you please give me something to eat? I am so hungry!”
“Oh you poor boy!” said the giantess. She could see that Jack was very thin. “Of course! Come in! Come in!” The kind giantess gave Jack some vegetable stew. He was enjoying it so much that he didn’t notice when the kitchen table started to shake. Loud footsteps echoed down the hallway.
“Oh dear,” whispered the giantess. “That is my husband! He is home from work! He doesn’t like humans! Quick! Hide!” Jack hid in the pantry. The giant stomped into the kitchen and sniffed the air. “Hello my beautiful wife! Wait! Do I smell a human? YUCK! WHERE IS HE?”
“Good evening, my darling husband,” replied the giantess. “There is nobody here. You smell the vegetable stew, nothing more.”
“Good,” grunted the giant. “I hate humans.” He sat down at the table in the kitchen. The giant took out a small sack of gold coins and counted them. One… two… three… four… five gold coins. Jack watched from inside the pantry. “Five gold coins!” thought Jack. “If I had that money, I could fix our house!”
When the two giants left the room, Jack stole the five gold coins and slipped them into his bag. “This is all I need!” thought Jack. But then Jack remembered that his family no longer had a cow. Without a cow, they would surely starve. He decided to stay and look for other treasures.
He followed the giant into the living room and hid under the couch. The giant went to the cupboard and pulled out a golden hen. “Hello, my beautiful hen! Lay, please!” said the giant, and the hen laid a golden egg. Jack watched from under the couch. “A hen that lays golden eggs!” whispered Jack. “If I had that hen, I could buy FIFTY cows!”
When the giant left the room, Jack crawled out from under the couch. He went to the cupboard, took the hen, and put it in his bag. “This is all I need…” thought Jack. But then Jack thought about what the old man had promised. Jack imagined being richer than the richest man in the world. He decided to see what other treasures he could find.
He followed the giant into the bedroom and hid under the bed. There was a golden harp standing in a corner of the room. “Hello, my beautiful harp. Play, please!” said the giant. The harp began playing music with no one touching the strings. “Wow! A magic harp!” whispered Jack. “That harp would make me rich and famous!”
When the giant fell asleep, Jack crawled out from under the bed. He took the magic harp and put it in his bag. But this time Jack was less lucky. The magic harp screamed, “Help me, master! A human is stealing me!” The giant woke up and saw Jack with the magic harp, the golden hen, and his gold coins. “STOP, THIEF!” The giant chased Jack out of the bedroom, down the hallway, through the kitchen, and out the front door. But Jack was smaller and faster than the giant. Jack reached the beanstalk first and slid down.
He arrived at the ground with all his treasures. The giant reached the top of the beanstalk and looked down. He was afraid of heights. He slowly climbed down. “BE CAREFUL, MY HUSBAND!” shouted the giantess from the castle. “HUMANS CAN BE DANGEROUS!”
Jack saw the giant coming down the beanstalk. So he ran into his house and grabbed an axe. He chopped the beanstalk. Suddenly, the beanstalk snapped. The giant came tumbling down from the sky. He fell down, down, down, and landed far away, on the other side of the Foggy Mountains.
For a moment everything was silent. Then Jack heard a strange sound from far away. “NOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooo!” It was the giant. The beanstalk had fallen, and now he had no way to get back up to his castle in the clouds. The giant yelled so loudly that the clouds shook and turned gray. Then somewhere up in the sky, Jack heard Mrs. Giant start to cry. Her tears fell through the clouds in tiny drops and soaked the earth.
After that, Jack and his mother lived a very comfortable life. The golden hen made Jack a millionaire. The magic harp made him famous. Jack married a rich and famous woman, and together they had ten children. But Jack was never truly happy. Every time the wind blew, Jack heard the giant calling for his wife. And every time it rained, he felt the giantess’s tears falling on him. Jack felt sad and guilty.
One day, when Jack was very old, he decided that he didn’t want to be sad anymore. He opened a box on his mantelpiece and pulled out one last shriveled magic bean. If he could find the giant, he could grow another beanstalk. Then the giant could climb back up to his castle in the clouds. If he could find the giant, he could also apologize for being so greedy.
Jack packed his bag and walked into the Misty Mountains. Did Jack find the giant? Did he grow a new beanstalk with the last magic bean? Nobody knows. But people say, if you listen closely during a thunderstorm, you can hear the rumbling sound of two giants dancing together in the clouds.
