傑克與魔豆

There was once a poor widow who lived with her son, Jack. All they had was a cow, and one day the cow stopped giving milk. "There's nothing else for it," said Jack's mother. "You'll have to take her to market and sell her." On the way to market, Jack met a strange old man. "That's a fine cow," said the man. "I'll swap her for these." He opened his hand and showed Jack five beans. "They're magic beans. Plant them tonight, and by morning they'll reach the sky." Jack thought it sounded like a wonderful deal, so he swapped the cow for the beans. But when he got home, his mother was furious. "You fool! You've given away our cow for a handful of beans!" She threw the beans out of the window and sent Jack to bed without any supper. When Jack woke up the next morning, his room was strangely dark. He looked out of the window and saw an enormous beanstalk. It had grown right up past the clouds. Jack climbed and climbed until he reached the top. There, he found a long road leading to a huge house. At the door stood a very tall woman. "You'd better go away," she said. "My husband is a giant, and he loves to eat boys like you." But Jack was so hungry that he begged for something to eat, and the giant's wife took pity on him and gave him some bread. Suddenly, the whole house began to shake. Thump! Thump! Thump! "Quick, hide!" said the woman, and she pushed Jack into the oven. In came the giant. He sniffed the air and roared: "Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman!" "Nonsense, dear," said his wife. "It's only the smell of your breakfast." After he had eaten, the giant took out a hen and said, "Lay!" The hen laid an egg of solid gold. Before long, the giant fell asleep and began to snore. Jack crept out of the oven, grabbed the hen and ran back to the beanstalk as fast as he could. He climbed down, and he and his mother sold the golden eggs and lived well for a while. But Jack wanted another adventure. Twice more he climbed the beanstalk. The second time, he came back with the giant's bags of gold coins. The third time, he took a golden harp that could play music on its own. But as he ran off with it, the harp cried out, "Master! Master!" The giant woke up with a roar and came after him. Jack slid down the beanstalk with the giant close behind. "Mother! Bring me the axe!" he shouted. As soon as he reached the ground, he took the axe and chopped at the beanstalk with all his strength. With a great crack, it came crashing down, and the giant fell with it and was never seen again. Jack and his mother were rich for the rest of their lives, and they never had to worry about money again.