A different take on Jack & The Beanstalk |
Jack and his mother lived deep in the wood (with Hansel & Gretel and Red Riding Hood) Hungry and poor, they decided their cow was the last hope for money - they needed some now! Jack took the heifer to market to sell (though he sure didn't know how to haggle so well) He returned with a frown and a handful of beans he was told they were magic - whatever that means! His mom yelled at Jack, threw the beans out the door, their hunger pangs growing too strong to ignore. She cooked their last meal and they went off to bed and visions of sugarplums danced in Jack's head. The next day, imagine their shock and surprise when a beanstalk stood reaching up into the skies! Jack grabbed a knapsack and started to climb; once up in the clouds, he lost track of the time. He got to the top and he looked all around, trying to locate the source of a sound - a clinking, a clanking, a spoon on a glass a whisper of wind through an ocean of grass... Turning, he saw what had made all the noise: A family! (A mother, a dad, and two boys) dressed for a picnic, relaxed on a cloud eating and drinking - and laughing out loud. Welcome! They called when they noticed him there He gulped and walked over, and tried not to stare at the food - all that food! and more people about Then he noticed their wings and he knew with no doubt that these "people" were angels, vacationing here; how he happened to find them it wasn't quite clear. They helped him fly down with some drink and some food to give to his mother and brighten her mood. They brought her some chickens - and even a cow They planted an acre of corn (don't ask how) They fixed her an orchard of apples and pears, abolishing all of her worries and cares - then, bowing, they left in a fiery flash; the beanstalk reduced to a pile of ash. The story was changed to protect their new friends but the secret is out - now you know how it ends! note ▼ |