Jack trades his family’s cow for magic beans, which grow into a giant beanstalk. Jack climbs the beanstalk, steals treasures from a giant, and escapes by cutting down the beanstalk.
Long ago, a poor woman and her son, Jack, lived in a small house. They had a cow. It was the only way they could get what they needed. One day, the cow stopped giving milk, so they had no money for food.
The woman told Jack to take the cow to the market and sell her. On his way, Jack met a man. The man offered him five magic beans for the cow. Jack thought this was a good trade, so he gave the man the cow for the beans.
When Jack got home, his mother was very angry. She said, “You fool! You traded our only cow for some beans!” She was very upset and threw the beans out the window.
The next morning, Jack woke up and saw a giant beanstalk. It had grown from the beans his mother had thrown away. The beanstalk was very tall and went up into the sky. Jack decided to climb it.
He went higher and higher until he reached the top. There, he saw a big castle. Jack went into the castle and found a giant living there. The giant was very big and scary.
Jack’s Adventures in the Giant’s Castle
Inside the castle, Jack also found a hen that laid gold eggs and a magic harp that played beautiful music. The giant had stolen these things.
The giant’s wife was kind to Jack. She hid him when the giant came back. The giant shouted, “Fee, fi, fo, fum! I smell an Englishman!”
The giant ate his dinner and then told the hen to lay a gold egg. Next, he told the harp to play. The hen laid a gold egg, and the harp played beautiful music. Finally, the giant fell asleep.
Jack’s Escape and What Happened After
Jack quietly took the hen and the harp and started to climb down the beanstalk. The hen and the harp were heavy, but Jack really wanted to get home.
As Jack climbed down, the harp suddenly made a noise. This woke up the giant. The giant saw Jack climbing down the beanstalk with his treasures. He was very angry and ran after Jack.
Jack climbed down as fast as he could. When he reached the bottom, he told his mother to bring an axe. His mother came running with an axe, and Jack chopped down the beanstalk.
The giant fell to the ground and was killed.