Once upon a time, there was a poor woman who had a son named Jack.
One day she said, My son, we have no money for bread.
You must take our cow to market and sell her.
So Jack started off to market with the cows.
On the way he met a man who had some bright colored beans in his hands.
My boy, do you want to sell your cow? asked the man.
I am going to market to sell her, said Jack.
I have some very wonderful beans, said the man.
They are worth more than diamonds.
I will give them to you if you will give me your cow.
Very well, said the boy.
He gave the cow to the man and took the beans home.
When his mother saw the beans, she began to cry.
Our cow is gone, she said, and these beans are worth nothing.
She threw the beans into the garden.
What a strange sight Jack saw the next morning.
There was a beanstalk as thick as a tree and so tall it reached from the earth to the sky.
I knew those were wonderful beans, cried the boy.
Perhaps I can find some food at the top of the beanstalk.
I will climb up to see.
Jack climbs the beanstalk.
Up and up Jack climbed. until the earth was far below.
But still the top of the beanstalk was high above him.
By and by he stopped to rest.
Then he thought of his poor hungry mother, and he climbed higher and higher.
After a long time, Jack reached the top of the wonderful beanstalk.
What a beautiful country! he cried.
Nearby, he saw a castle fine enough for a king.
While he was looking at it, a fairy came and stood beside him.
See that beautiful castle, said the fairy.
I will tell you a story about it.
Once a good king and his queen lived in that castle with their little son.
Not far away lived a grey giant who wanted the king's gold.
So one night, he broke into the castle and killed the king as he lay asleep.
The queen had taken the little boy to the earth below for a visit.
When she heard that the king had been killed, she was afraid to go back to the castle.
So the queen and her son stayed on the earth and lived in a little house.
Jack, that poor queen is your mother.
My dear mother, my poor father, cried Jack.
All the things in this castle were your father's, said the fairy.
Are you afraid to try to get them back?
I am not afraid of anything, said the young boy.
It is worth trying.
Then, go to the castle, said the fairy.
Get the hen that lays golden eggs and the magic harp that talks.
Jack went up the path and knocked at the castle door.
The giant's wife opened it at once.
Go away, said the woman.
Don't you know that a giant lives here?
He will kill you if he sees you.
Here he comes now.
Quick, hide in that little room.
Just as Jack hid himself, the big giant came into the castle.
He was so heavy that he made all the tables and chairs shake as he walked.
The giant looked all around the room.
Then he growled in a deep, gruff voice.
Why, wife, I smell a boy in the castle.
Where is he?
You smell only the meat that I have cooked for your supper, said his wife.
Sit down and eat.
When the giant was through eating, he growled.
Wife, bring the magic hen.
His wife brought the hen and put it on the table.
Lay, good hen, cried the giant.
At once the hen laid a golden egg.
Lay again, said the giant, and the hen laid a second golden egg.
Lay again. said the giant, and the hand laid a third golden egg.
Then the giant put the three eggs into his pocket and soon fell fast asleep.
Now Jack had been peeping through a crack in the door, and he had seen the wonderful hen.
There is the hen that the fairy told me to get, he thought.
So Jack While the giant was asleep, Jack crept softly out of the little room.
Without making a sound, he took the magic hen and ran from the castle.
In a minute he reached the beanstalk.
Soon he was safe on the earth below.
How happy his mother was when she saw the hen that laid golden eggs.
The magic harp.
After this, Jack and his mother had all the money they wanted.
But the lad remembered the story which the fairy had told him.
He could not forget the magic harp.
Mother, he said one day, I must go back to the castle and get my father's harp.
So the boy climbed the beanstalk and went to the castle a second time.
The giant's wife did not know that this was the same lad who had taken the magic hen, for Jack was much taller now.
So she let him in again, and when she heard the giant coming, she hid the lad in the cupboard.
The giant came into the house.
I smell a boy, he roared in his deep, gruff voice.
You smell only the fat sheep I have cooked for you, said his wife.
You are hungry.
Sit down and eat your dinner.
After the giant had finished eating, he roared, Wife, bring the magic harp.
The woman carried in a beautiful harp with strings of gold.
Harp, said the giant.
Play for me!
At once the sound of soft, sweet music filled the air.
Never had Jack heard such wonderful music.
He wanted more than ever to get the magic harp.
The giant listened for a long time.
At last he fell fast asleep in his chair.
While the giants laughed, The boy crept quietly out of the cupboard and took the harp in his arms.
But as he ran through the castle door, the harp called out, Master!
Master!
Wake up!
Wake up!
Save me!
Save me!
Up jumped the giant.
He ran after Jack faster than the wind.
But as he ran, the giant fell over a stone.
Before he could get up, Jack was at the bottom of the beanstalk.
Mother!
Mother! cried the lad.
Quick, bring me the axe!
His mother handed the axe to Jack.
Quickly he took the axe and cut down the beanstalk.
Over it fell and Jack was safe.
Just then he saw the fairy standing beside him.
You are a brave boy, she said.
Now, you and your mother will always be rich and have plenty of everything.
