jack and the beanstalk
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THERE was once upon a time a poor widow1 who had an only son named Jack,2 and a cow named Milky-white.3 And all they had to live on was the milk the cow gave every morning, which they carried to the market and sold. But one morning Milky-white gave no milk4 and they didn’t know what to do. "What shall we do, what shall 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 would take you," said his mother; "we must sell Milky-white and with the money, start shop, or something."5 "All right, mother," says 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’s halter in his hand, 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.6 "Well, Jack, and where are you off to?" said the man. "I’m going to market to sell our cow here." "Oh, you look the proper sort of chap to sell cows," said the man; "I wonder if you know how many beans make five."7 "Two in each hand and one in your mouth," says Jack, as sharp as a needle.8 "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," says he, "I don’t mind doing a swop with you — your cow for these beans."9 "Walker!" says Jack; "wouldn’t you like it?" "Ah! 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?" says Jack; "you don’t say so." "Yes, that is so, and if it doesn’t turn out to be true you can have your cow back." "Right," says Jack, and hands him over Milky-white’s halter and pockets the beans. Back goes Jack home, and as he hadn’t gone very far it wasn’t dusk10 by the time he got to his door. "Back already, Jack?" said his mother; "I see you haven’t got Milky-white, so you’ve sold her. How much did you get for her?" "You’ll never guess, mother," says Jack. "No, you don’t say so. Good boy! Five pounds, ten, fifteen, no, it can’t be twenty." "I told you you couldn’t guess. What do you say to these beans; they’re magical, plant them overnight and —" "What!" says Jack’s mother, "have you been such a fool, such a dolt, such an idiot, as to give away my Milky-white, the best milker in the parish, and prime beef to boot, for a set of paltry beans? Take that! Take that! Take that!11 And as for your precious beans here they go out of the window.12 And now off with you to bed. Not a sup shall you drink, and not a bit shall you swallow this very night."13 So Jack went upstairs to his little room in the attic, and sad and sorry he was, to be sure, as much for his mother’s sake, as for the loss of his supper. 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. So Jack jumped up and dressed himself and went to the window. And what do you think he saw? Why, the beans his mother had thrown out of the window into the garden had sprung up into a big beanstalk14 which went up and up and up till it reached the sky.15 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 on to the beanstalk which ran up just like a big plaited ladder. So Jack climbed,16 and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed till at last he reached the sky. And when he got there he found a long broad road going as straight as a dart. So he walked along and he walked along and he walked along till he came to a great big tall house,17 and on the doorstep there was a great big tall woman.18 "Good morning, mum," says Jack, quite polite-like.19 "Could you be so kind as to give me some breakfast?" For he hadn’t had anything to eat, you know, the night before and was as hungry as a hunter. "It’s breakfast you want, is it?" says the great big tall woman, "it’s breakfast you’ll be if you don’t move off from here. My man is an ogre20 and there’s nothing he likes better than boys broiled on toast. You’d better be moving on or he’ll soon be coming." "Oh! please, mum, do give me something to eat, mum. I’ve had nothing to eat since yesterday morning, really and truly, mum," says Jack. "I may as well be broiled as die of hunger." Well, the ogre’s wife wasn't such a bad sort after all. So she took Jack into the kitchen, and gave him a hunk of bread and cheese and a jug of milk. But Jack hadn’t half finished these when thump! thump! thump! the whole house began to tremble with the noise of someone coming. "Goodness gracious me! It’s my old man," said the ogre’s wife, "what on earth shall I do? Come along quick and jump in here." And she bundled Jack into the oven21 just as the ogre came in. He was a big one, to be sure. At his belt he had three calves strung up by the heels, and he unhooked them and threw them down on the table and said: "Here, wife, broil me a couple of these for breakfast. Ah! what’s this I smell? Fee-fi-fo-fum, "Nonsense, dear," said his wife, "you’ re dreaming. Or perhaps you smell the scraps of that little boy you liked so much for yesterday’s dinner.23 Here, you go and have a wash and tidy up, and by the time you come back your breakfast’ll 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 not. "Wait till he’s asleep," says she; "he always has a snooze after breakfast." Well, the ogre had his breakfast, and after that he goes to a big chest and takes out of it a couple of bags of gold,24 and sits down counting them till at last his head began to nod and he began to snore till the whole house shook again. Then Jack crept out on tiptoe from his oven, and as he was passing the ogre he took one of the bags of gold under his arm,25 and off he pelters till he came to the beanstalk, and then he threw down the bag of gold, which, of course, fell into his mother’s garden, and then he climbed down and climbed down till 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 bag of gold for some time, but at last they came to the end of that so Jack made up his mind to try his luck once more up at the top of the beanstalk. So one fine morning he rose up early, and got on to the beanstalk, and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed till at last he got on the road again and came the great big tall house he had been to before. There, sure enough, was the great tall woman a-standing on the doorstep. "Good morning, mum," says Jack, as bold as brass, "could you be so good as to give me something to eat?" "Go away, my boy," said the big, tall woman, "or else my man will eat you up for breakfast. But aren’t you the youngster who came here once before? Do you know, that very day my man missed one of his bags of gold." "That’s strange, mum," said Jack, "I dare say I could tell you something about that but I’m so hungry I can’t speak till I’ve had something to eat." Well, the big tall woman was that curious that she took him in and gave him something to eat. But he had scarcely begun munching it as slowly as he could when thump! thump! they heard the giant’s footstep, and his wife hid Jack away in the oven. All happened as it did before. In came the ogre as he did before, said: "Fee-fi-fo-fum," and had his breakfast off three broiled oxen. Then he said: "Wife, bring me the hen that lays the golden eggs."26 So she brought it, and the ogre said: "Lay," and it laid an egg all of gold. And then the ogre began to nod his head, and to snore till the house shook. Then Jack crept out of the oven on tiptoe and caught hold of the golden hen, and was off before you could say "Jack Robinson."27 But this time the hen gave a cackle which woke the ogre, and just as Jack got out of the house he heard him calling: "Wife, wife, what have you done with my golden hen?" And the wife said: "Why, my dear?" But that was all Jack heard, for he rushed off to the beanstalk and climbed down like a house on fire. And when he got home he showed his mother the wonderful hen, and said "Lay" to it; and it laid a golden egg every time he said 'Lay." Well, Jack was not content,28 and it wasn’t long before he determined to have another try at his luck up there at the top of the beanstalk. So one fine morning, he rose up early, and went on to the beanstalk, and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed till he got to the top. But this time he knew better than to go straight to the ogre’s house. And when he got near it, he waited behind a bush till he saw the ogre’s wife come out with a pail to get some water, and then he crept into the house and got into the copper.29 He hadn’t been there long when he heard thump! thump! thump! as before, and in came the ogre and his wife. "Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman," cried out the ogre. "I smell him, wife, I smell him." "Do you, my dearie?" says the ogre’s wife. "Then if it’s that little rogue that stole your gold and the hen that laid the golden eggs he’s sure to have got into the oven." And they both rushed to the oven. But Jack wasn’t there, luckily, and the ogre’s wife said: "There you are again with your fee-fi-fo-fum. Why, of course, it’s the laddie you caught last night that I’ve broiled for your breakfast. How forgetful I am, and how careless you are not to know the difference between live un and a dead un." So the ogre sat down to the breakfast and ate it, but every now and then he would mutter: "Well, I could have sworn —" and he’d get up and search the larder and the cupboards, and everything, only, luckily, he didn’t think of the copper. After breakfast was over, the ogre called out: "Wife, wife, bring me my golden harp." So she brought it and put it on the table before him. Then he said: "Sing!" and the golden harp30 sang most beautifully. And it went on singing till the ogre fell asleep, and commenced to snore like thunder. Then Jack lifted up the copper-lid very quietly and got down like a mouse and crept on hands and knees till he came to the table when he got up and caught hold of the golden harp and dashed with it towards the door. But the harp called out quite loud: "Master! Master!" and the ogre woke up just in time to see Jack running off with his harp. Jack ran as fast as he could, and the ogre came rushing after, and would soon have caught him only Jack had a start and dodged him a bit and knew where he was going.31 When he got to the beanstalk the ogre was not more than twenty yards away when suddenly he saw Jack disappear like, and when he came to the end of the road he saw Jack underneath climbing down for dear life. Well, the ogre didn’t like trusting himself to such a ladder, and he stood and waited, so Jack got another start. But just then the harp cried out: "Master! Master!" and the ogre swung himself down on to the beanstalk, which shook with his weight. Down climbs Jack, and after him climbed the ogre. By this time Jack had climbed down and climbed down and climbed down till he was very nearly home. So he called out: "Mother! Mother! bring me an axe, bring me an axe." And his mother came rushing out with the axe in her hand, but when she came to the beanstalk she stood stock still with fright, for there she saw the ogre just coming down below the clouds. But Jack jumped down and got hold of the axe and gave a chop at the beanstalk which cut it half in two. The ogre felt the beanstalk shake and quiver so he stopped to see what was the matter. Then Jack gave another chop with the axe, and the beanstalk was cut in two and began to topple over. Then the ogre fell down and broke his crown, and the beanstalk came toppling after.32 Then Jack showed his mother his golden harp, and what with showing that and selling the golden eggs, Jack and his mother became very rich, and he married a great princess,33 and they lived happy ever after.34 1. Poor widow: Traditionally, widowhood is often a noble but poverty-stricken status. The death of the father also accounts for the humble means of the family which is shown throughout the story. 2. Jack: Jack is a common, almost generic, fairy tale name, the name of a trickster in many folktales. Jack as a "hero is generally unpromising at the start of the tale, young, poor or foolish, but through a combination of luck and craftiness he triumphs against the odds. The morality of such tales is often dubious; they spring from the folk tradition which celebrates the wiles and audacity of the trickster figure" (Jones 1995, 243). Below are some collections of "Jack Tales" in print.
Return to place in story. 3. Cow named Milky-white: In some variants of the tale, the cow is named Milky-white. The cow is simply an animal to be sold in this version of the story. In some newer versions of the tale, Jack considers the cow to be his dear friend and pet. He is reluctant to sell the cow for this reason. Milky-white plays a comedic role in Stephen Sondheim's fairy tale musical, Into the Woods. While the cow is still sold for beans, at the end of the "cow as pet" versions, Jack uses his new wealth to buy back Milky-white. 4. Gave no milk: In some versions, the narrator explains that Milky-white has ceased to produce milk and must be sold so the family can survive. Psychologists consider the end of the cow's milk to symbolize the weaning process, marking the end of Jack's prolonged infancy and childhood. Now Jack must leave home and provide for himself and his mother as an adult. 5. With the money, start shop, or something: Note that Jack's mother considers a solution which will not rely on his energy, skills or wits to support them. The poor widown would hopefully be able to run a shop herself. 6. Wondered how he knew his name: In this version of the tale, this mystery is never solved. Who is the funny-looking old man and where did the magic beans come from? In Tabart's version of the story, a detailed explanation is provided. The mysterious man and his beans were sent to Jack as a test by a fairy, the fairy godmother to Jack's dead father. She sets up the circumstances to test Jack's courage and worthiness to reclaim his rightful inheritance from the giant. 7. Five: Five is the number of beans most often described when a number is provided in the tale. 8. "Two in each hand and one in your mouth," says Jack, as sharp as a needle: The narrator is employing irony when describing Jack as being as sharp as a needle, a phrase that is usually complimentary when describing intelligence. Maria Tatar states: "Contrary to conventional wisdom, which identifies fairy-tale heroes as active, handsome, and cunning, Jack and his folkloric cousins are decidedly unworldly figures, innocent, silly, guileless. Yet Jack (like most simpletons, numbskulls, and noodles) slips into the role of a cunning trickster. In fairy tales, character traits shift almost imperceptibly into their opposites as the plot unfolds" (Tatar 2002, 134). 9. Beans: "Sow beans in the mud, and they'll come up like trees." This is an English proverb with which Neil Philip speculates that Jack's beans might be of the runner variety. Runner beans are the fastest growing and the tallest bean (Philip 1997, 106). The beans and the resulting beanstalk place the story in the realm of peasants and the lower classes. Beans are a common food, available to the masses, not confined to the tables of the wealthy. The lower classes would be able to identify a bean and perhaps nourish dreams of their own beanstalk into the heavens when hearing this story. 10. Dusk: Note that the narrator makes sure to note that the magic beans are planted before nightfall in keeping with the mysterious man's instructions. 11. Take that! Take that! Take that!: Jack's mother is not above corporal punishment in this version of the story. Corporal punishment is not common in the Jack and the Beanstalk tale. 12. Here they go out of the window: The planting of the beans takes on many forms in the variants of the tale. In most versions, the beans are thrown out the window by Jack's mother, not planted, but still grow magically on their own overnight. In other versions, Jack's mother spits the beans out the window in disgust with her son's folly. In Tabart's version, Jack plants the beans: "...I may as well sow them.' So he took a piece of stick, and made some holes in the ground, and put in the beans." 13. And now off with you to bed. Not a sup shall you drink, and not a bit shall you swallow this very night: Considering the family has little or no food, especially now that the cow is gone, Jack's punishment meets his "crime" very well. However, this punishment is one usually given to young children and emphasizes Jack's role as a child, not an adult, in his home. 14. Beanstalk: According to Maria Tatar, the "beanstalk has a certain whimsical inventiveness, for beanstalks are notoriously unstable and usually require staking to remain propped up" (Tatar 2002, 131). 15. It reached the sky: Stairways to heaven have long been a part of folklore. One of the earliest stairway to heaven stories is that of the Tower of Babel in the Old Testament. The people try to reach heaven in their pride by building a large tower. As a result, God is angered by their audacity and confounds the language of the people. The tower is also destroyed. Other folkloric stairways include Jacob's Ladder, Yggdrasil, the South American world-tree, and the Bodhi tree. Yggdrasil is an ash tree which connects the underworld, the earth, and the heavens in Norse myth (Philip 1997, 107). The South American world-tree "serves as a bridge between two worlds (Tatar 2002, 131). Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree when he received his enlightenment. 16. Jack climbed: In Jacobs' version, Jack just climbs up the beanstalk without much thought or any consultation with his mother. In Tabart's version, Jack consults his mother before climbing the beanstalk although she objects to the climb. 17. A great big tall house: The house is most often described and illustrated as a large castle. Visit the Illustrations of Jack and the Beanstalk page to see some illustrators' visions of Jack, the beanstalk, the Giant, and the castle. 18. A great big tall woman: The giantess, as the ogre's wife and probably as an ogre herself, is unexpectedly helpful to Jack. Some variants of the tale do not include the ogre's wife at all, confining the conflict to Jack and the giant. Other versions replace the wife with a servant girl, sometimes an unwillingly captive, who willingly helps Jack in his escapades. Jack helps the servant escape and in some versions marries her. Note that all of the female roles in the tale are ones of ultimate control and mothering to their male counterparts. Jack is sheltered by his mother. The giant is appeased by his wife even when she is in a servile position. She corrects him and tells him to wash his hands before eating. In versions in which the fairy appears, she is also benevolent and helpful to Jack. In many ways, the women are in control of the men in the story. 19. Polite-like: Since we learn soon enough that the ogre's wife is not opposed to broiling young men for her husband's meals, we have to wonder why she is so kind and helpful to Jack. The most reasonable answer in the story's context is that Jack is charming and polite, winning her good graces. 20. Ogre: In folklore, ogres are giants given to eating human flesh. 21. She bundled Jack into the oven: Unlike the oven in Hansel and Gretel, the oven is a place of safety for Jack. The irony is that Jack will be broiled in the very oven he hides in if he is caught by the giant. In his analysis of Hansel and Gretel, Hans Dieckmann's Jungian analysis interprets the oven as a womb symbol or symbol of birth and transformation (Dieckmann 1986). Considering Jack's transformation from child care receiver to adult caregiver in this story, Dieckmann's analysis could also apply to this tale. 22. Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman, Be he alive, or be he dead, I’ll have his bones to grind my bread: I prefer the last line in Tabart's version of the giant's rhyme: 'Fe, fa, fi-fo-fum, The ogre's heightened sense of smell provides suspense and horror to the story. It also marks him more as an animal, an ogre, and not human. Return to place in story. 23. The scraps of that little boy you liked so much for yesterday’s dinner: In this version, this is the closest justification we have for Jack's abuse of the giant. The giant eats humans and thus needs to be destroyed. 24. Bags of gold: Across variants, most of the items Jack steals from the giant are associated with gold. A bag of gold, the hen that lays golden eggs, and the golden harp are all associated with gold in this story and the most popular items described. 25. Took one of the bags of gold under his arm: Some versions of the story, such as Tabart's version, make Jack a righteous trickster character by justifying his thievery from the giant. Jack learns that the giant murdered his father and stole his treasures, so Jack is only reclaiming what is rightfully his. "This castle was once your father's, and must again be yours," explains a fairy to Jack. However, many versions of the story give Jack no other justification than his own poverty and that the giant wants to eat him. 26. Hen that lays the golden eggs: Even if they don't lay golden eggs, egg-laying hens have always been valuable commodities, especially before breeding increased the output of hens. The gold laying hen is similar to other stories in which animals create gold. In Donkeyskin, the king's donkey defecates gold pieces. In the story of , a donkey spits out gold pieces. 27. Jack Robinson: Jacobs has fun by referencing another Jack in folklore, this time the phrase, "Faster than you can say Jack Robinson!" The phrase dates to at least 1778 since it appears that year in Fanny Burney's novel, Evelina. The origins of the phrase are obscure and still under debate today (Wilton Wordorigins.org). 28. Jack was not content: Knowing the storytelling and folkloric rule of three, we know as readers and listeners that Jack must visit the castle one last time with different results from his last two visits. Maria Tatar writes: "Jack has been seen as a capitalist risk taker who has the kind of entrepreneurial energy required in the new economies developing in the British Empire. His expropriation of the 'uncivilized' giant has been read as an allegory of colonialist enterprises" (Tatar 2002, 138). The number and/or pattern of three often appears in fairy tales to provide rhythm and suspense. The pattern adds drama and suspense while making the story easy to remember and follow. The third event often signals a change and/or ending for the listener/reader. A third time also disallows coincidence such as two repetitive events would suggest. The reasons and theories behind three's popularity are numerous and diverse. The number has been considered powerful across history in different cultures and religions, but not all of them. Christians have the Trinity, the Chinese have the Great Triad (man, heaven, earth), and the Buddhists have the Triple Jewel (Buddha, Dharma, Sanga). The Greeks had the Three Fates. Pythagoras considered three to be the perfect number because it represented everything: the beginning, middle, and end. Some cultures have different powerful numbers, often favoring seven, four and twelve. 29. The copper: Acopper is a vessel, usually a large boiler, made of copper. 30. Golden harp: The harp is one of the oldest string instruments in the world. While modern harps are over five feet tall, early versions of the instrument were much smaller and could conceivably be tucked under Jack's arm for a quick escape (Philip 1997, 111). 31. Jack had a start and dodged him a bit and knew where he was going: Jacobs includes several explanations for Jack's ability to elude the giant who is larger and can run faster than Jack. While we do not have the mystery of the magic beans solved in Jacobs' version, he provides more rationale for the smaller, possibly illogical events which are not connected to magic. 32. Ogre fell down and broke his crown, and the beanstalk came toppling after: Jacobs uses a humorous reference to another Jack, this time the Jack in the Jack and Jill nursery rhyme, to gloss over the ogre's death: Jack and Jill went up the hill, Jack's defeat of the giant is reminiscent of the Old Testament story, David and Goliath. In that story, the boy David slays Goliath, a giant, with a rock from his sling shot. 33. He married a great princess: Jacobs includes a fairy tale princess bride with his ending of the tale. Most versions do not include a marriage for Jack unless he has rescued a princess or servant girl from the giant's castle. Tabart's version does not mention a wedding. Many versions simply state that Jack and his mother live happily together for many more years. 34. They lived happy ever after: And so Jack and his mother--and in this version Jack's bride--life happily ever after with a traditional romantic fairy tale ending. |
