Jack and the Beanstalk (Condensed Version)

Jack and the Beanstalk

Once upon a time, there lived a widow and her only son Jack. They were very poor and had to sell nearly everything they owned to buy food. One day, their last cow stopped giving milk, so Jack’s mother sent him to the market to sell it.

On his way to the market, Jack met a mysterious old man who offered to trade him “magic beans” for his cow. Jack agreed, took the beans and headed back home.

When Jack’s mother saw the beans, she was furious. Thinking that Jack had been tricked, she threw the beans out the window and sent Jack to bed without supper.

The next morning, Jack woke to find a huge beanstalk had grown overnight from the magic beans. Jack decided to climb the beanstalk and found himself in a different world high up in the clouds. There he saw a grand castle.

Curiosity piqued, Jack approached the castle and was greeted by a giant woman. Jack explained his situation, and she let him in, warning him that her husband liked to eat boys.

Soon, the ground shook with the giant’s footsteps, and the woman quickly hid Jack. The giant, after eating an enormous meal, called for his bags of gold coins. After he counted his coins, he dozed off to sleep.

Seizing his chance, Jack crept out of his hiding spot, grabbed a bag of gold coins, and hurried down the beanstalk. Jack and his mother lived well for some time with the stolen gold, but after a while, the money ran out.

Jack decided to climb the beanstalk again. This time, he stole a hen that laid golden eggs from the sleeping giant. With the hen, Jack and his mother were able to live comfortably for some time.

However, Jack’s greed led him to climb the beanstalk a third time. This time, he stole a golden harp that played beautiful tunes on its own. But as Jack ran off with it, the harp cried out, waking the giant.

Chasing Jack, the giant followed him down the beanstalk. Jack called out to his mother for an axe and managed to cut down the beanstalk, causing the giant to fall to his death.

With the magic hen and the golden harp, Jack and his mother lived happily and richly. Jack learned to be responsible, and he and his mother were able to live comfortably for the rest of their days.

The End.