Jack and the Peanuts There was once upon a time a poor widow who had an only son named Jack and a cow named Milky White.
All they had to live on was the milk the cow gave every morning,
Which they carried to the market and sold.
Until one morning Milky White gave no milk.
What should we do?
Said the widow wringing her hands.
Cheer up mother,
I'll go and get work somewhere,
Said Jack.
We've tried that before and nobody will take you,
Said his mother.
We must sell Milky White and with the money start a shop or something.
All right mother,
Said Jack.
It's market day today and I'll soon sell Milky White and then we'll see what we can do.
So he took the cow and off he started.
He hadn't gone far when he met a funny looking old man who said to him.
Good morning Jack.
Good morning to you,
Said Jack and wondered how he knew his name.
Well Jack,
Where are you off to?
Said the man.
I'm going to the market to sell our cow there.
You look the proper sort of chap to sell cows,
Said the man.
I wonder if you know how many beans make five?
Two in each hand and one in your mouth,
Said Jack,
As sharp as a needle.
Right you are,
Said the man.
And here they are,
The very beans themselves.
He went on pulling out of his pocket a number of strange looking beans.
As you are so sharp,
Said he,
I don't mind doing a swap with you,
Your cow,
For these beans.
Go along,
Said Jack.
You take me for a fool.
Oh,
You don't know what these beans are,
Said the man.
If you plant them overnight,
By morning they grow right up to the sky.
Really?
Said Jack.
You don't say so.
Yes,
That is so.
If it doesn't turn out to be true,
You can have your cow back.
Right,
Said Jack,
And handed him over Milky White.
Then pocket the beans.
Back home goes Jack and says to his mother.
You'll never guess mother what I got for Milky White.
His mother became very excited.
Five pounds?
Ten?
Fifteen?
No,
Twenty!
I told you that you couldn't guess.
What do you say to these beans?
They are magical.
Plant them overnight and.
.
.
What?
Exclaimed Jack's mother.
Have you been such a fool?
Take that.
As for your precious beans,
Here they go out of the window.
Now off with you to bed.
Not a soup shall you drink,
And not a bit shall you swallow this very night.
So Jack went upstairs to his little room in the attic.
Sad and sorry he was,
To be sure.
At last,
He dropped off to sleep.
When he woke up,
The room looked so funny.
The sun was shining into part of it,
And yet all the rest was quite dark and shady.
Jack jumped up and went to the window.
What do you think he saw?
The beans his mother had thrown out of the window into the garden had sprung up into a giant beanstalk,
Which went up until it reached the sky.
So the man spoke truth after all.
The beanstalk grew up quite close past Jack's window,
So all he had to do was to open it and give a jump onto the beanstalk,
Which ran upon just like a big ladder.
So Jack climbed and climbed and climbed,
Until at last he reached the sky.
When he got there,
He found a long broad road going as straight as a dart.
So he walked along,
Until he came to a great big tall house,
And on the doorstep there was a great big tall woman.
Good morning,
Ma'am,
Said Jack quite politely.
Will you be so kind as to give me some breakfast?
For he was as hangry as a hunter.
Is it breakfast you want,
Is it?
Said the great big tall woman.
It's breakfast you'll be if you don't move off from here.
My husband is an ogre,
And there's nothing he likes better than boys boiled on toast.
You'd better be moving on,
Or he'll be coming.
I will,
But please,
Do give me something to eat.
I have had nothing to eat since yesterday morning.
Brilliant,
Truly,
Said Jack.
I may as well be boiled as die of hunger.
Well,
The ogre's wife was not half so bad after all,
So she took Jack into the kitchen and gave him a hunk of bread and cheese.
Jack hadn't half finished this when the whole house began to tremble with the noise of someone coming.
Goodness gracious me!
It's my husband!
Said the ogre's wife.
Come along quick and jump in here!
She bundled Jack into the oven just as the ogre came in.
He was very big to be sure.
At his belt he had three calves strung up by the heels,
And he unhooked them and threw them down onto the table and said,
I smell the blood of a young boy.
Be he alive or be he dead,
I'll have his bones to green my bread.
Nonsense,
Dear,
Said his wife.
You are dreaming,
Or perhaps you smell the scraps of that little boy you liked so much for yesterday's dinner.
Here you go,
And have a wash up and tie it up.
By the time you come back,
Your breakfast will be ready for you.
So off the ogre went,
And Jack was just going to jump out of the oven and run away when the woman told him,
Wait till he's asleep,
He always has those after breakfast.
Well,
The ogre had his breakfast,
And after that he went to a big chest and took out a couple of banks of gold,
And down he sat and counted until at last his head began to nod and he began to snore until the whole house shook again.
Jack then crept out on the tiptoe from the oven,
And as he was passing the ogre,
He took one of the banks of gold from under his arm until he came to the beanstalk,
And then he threw down the bank of gold,
Which of course fell into his mother's garden until at last he got home and told his mother and showed her the gold and said,
Well mother,
Wasn't I right about the beans?
They are really magical,
You see?
So they lived on the bank of gold for some time until at last they came to the end of it and Jack made up his mind to try his luck once more at the top of the beanstalk.
So one fine morning,
He rose up early and got onto the beanstalk and he climbed and climbed and climbed until at last he came out onto the road again and up to the great tall house he had been to before.
There,
Sure enough,
Was the great tall woman standing on the doorstep.
What will happen next?
Is Jack going to be successful again?
Or maybe he will not be as lucky as before?
