English folk tale Jack and the Beanstalk. Movie Jack and the Beanstalk Jack and the Beanstalk summary
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Jack and the Beanstalk(English) Jack and the Beanstalk) is an English folk tale about a brave boy, Jack, who defeated a giant.
Plot
The widow, forced to sell her cow, sends her son Jack to the market. On the way, Jack meets an old man who offers to exchange a cow for magic beans, from which a stalk will supposedly grow to the sky. The angry mother, having learned about this deal, throws the beans out the window. The next morning, Jack sees that the old man was telling the truth. A curious boy climbs the stem until he finds a path leading to a house. At the house, Jack meets a giantess and asks her to feed him. The kind woman fulfills his request. But then the owner of the house, a cannibal giant, returns home. The giantess hides Jack in the stove. The giant enters and says:
When the giant falls asleep, Jack goes home. However, he later returns to steal the bag of gold and the goose that lays the golden eggs. The cannibal gives chase, but Jack, having cut the stem, defeats the giant.
In books
The tale is known in different versions. It first appeared in print in 1807, adapted by Benjamin Tabart, in which the author introduces a new character - a fairy who explains the moral of the tale to Jack.
Joseph Jacobs version (English)Russian 1890 is the most popular.
Cultural influence
- The first film based on the tale appeared in 1902: Jack and the Beanstalk, a silent short film by George Fleming and Edwin Stanton Porter.
- In the USA, the fairy tale was filmed twice - in 1962 and 2013 (the second time under the title "Jack the Giant Slayer").
- Based on the plot of this fairy tale, the Japanese full-length anime film “Jack in Wonderland” was produced.
- In the cartoon Puss in Boots, part of the storyline is based on this fairy tale.
- In the cartoon “Fun and Carefree”, the second part is a free retelling of the fairy tale, in which the role of the giant is played by Willie the Giant, and the role of Jack is played by Mickey Mouse.
- In the computer game Dizzy 3: Fantasy World Dizzy, released in October 1989 by Codemasters, the main character, an egg named Dizzy, rescues his beloved Daisy, who has been placed by a wizard in a castle in the clouds. In the story, Dizzy exchanges a small horse from a market trader for a magic bean, plants it in manure and climbs up into the clouds along the grown stem.
- In the animated series Family Guy season 12 episode 10, Peter tells Stewie 3 fairy tales, the first one about Jack and the magic beans.
- The plot of the tale is used in the feature musical film Into the Woods, directed by Rob Marshall and produced by Walt Disney Pictures.
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Excerpt describing Jack and the Beanstalk
“Everyone is some kind of mania for confrontation,” he continued. - And in front of whom? And all because we want to ape the stupid Moscow delights,” said Prince Vasily, confused for a moment and forgetting that Helen should have made fun of the Moscow delights, and Anna Pavlovna should have admired them. But he immediately recovered. - Well, is it proper for Count Kutuzov, the oldest general in Russia, to sit in the chamber, et il en restera pour sa peine! [his troubles will be in vain!] Is it possible to appoint as commander in chief a man who cannot sit on horseback, falls asleep in council, a man of the worst morals! He proved himself well in Bucarest! I'm not even talking about his qualities as a general, but is it really possible at such a moment to appoint a decrepit and blind man, simply blind? A blind general will be good! He doesn't see anything. Playing blind man's buff... he sees absolutely nothing!Nobody objected to this.
On July 24th this was absolutely true. But on July 29, Kutuzov was granted princely dignity. Princely dignity could also mean that they wanted to get rid of him - and therefore Prince Vasily’s judgment continued to be fair, although he was in no hurry to express it now. But on August 8, a committee was assembled from General Field Marshal Saltykov, Arakcheev, Vyazmitinov, Lopukhin and Kochubey to discuss the affairs of the war. The committee decided that the failures were due to differences in command, and, despite the fact that the people who made up the committee knew the sovereign’s dislike for Kutuzov, the committee, after a short meeting, proposed appointing Kutuzov as commander-in-chief. And on the same day, Kutuzov was appointed plenipotentiary commander-in-chief of the armies and the entire region occupied by the troops.
On August 9, Prince Vasily met again at Anna Pavlovna's with l'homme de beaucoup de merite [a man with great merit]. L'homme de beaucoup de merite courted Anna Pavlovna on the occasion of her desire to be appointed trustee of the female educational institution of Empress Maria Feodorovna. Prince Vasily entered the room with the air of a happy winner, a man who had achieved the goal of his desires.
- Eh bien, vous savez la grande nouvelle? Le prince Koutouzoff est marechal. [Well, do you know the great news? Kutuzov - Field Marshal.] All disagreements are over. I'm so happy, so glad! - said Prince Vasily. “Enfin voila un homme, [Finally, this is a man.],” he said, looking significantly and sternly at everyone in the living room. L "homme de beaucoup de merite, despite his desire to get a place, could not resist reminding Prince Vasily of his previous judgment. (This was discourteous both in front of Prince Vasily in Anna Pavlovna’s living room, and in front of Anna Pavlovna, who was just as joyful accepted this news; but he could not resist.)
“Mais on dit qu"il est aveugle, mon prince? [But they say he is blind?],” he said, reminding Prince Vasily of his own words.
“Allez donc, il y voit assez, [Eh, nonsense, he sees enough, believe me.]” said Prince Vasily in his bassy, quick voice with a cough, that voice and cough with which he resolved all difficulties. “Allez, il y voit assez,” he repeated. “And what I am glad about,” he continued, “is that the sovereign gave him complete power over all the armies, over the entire region - power that no commander-in-chief has ever had.” This is a different autocrat,” he concluded with a triumphant smile.
A long time ago, or rather, I don’t remember when, there lived a poor widow with her son. There was nowhere for them to wait for help, so they fell into such need that sometimes there was not a handful of flour left in the house, not a scrap of hay for the cow.
Then one day the mother says:
Apparently there’s nothing to do, Jack, we’ll have to sell the cow.
Why? - asked Jack.
He also asks why! Yes, to buy bread to feed you, your stupid head!
Okay,” Jack agreed. “Tomorrow morning I’ll take Brown to the market.” I'll get a good price for it, don't worry.
The next day, early in the morning, Jack got up, got ready and drove the cow to the market. The path was not close, and Jack more than once turned off the dusty road to rest in the shade and let the cow nibble on fresh grass.
So he sits under a tree and suddenly sees: some wonderful short man with a skinny knapsack on his back is wandering towards him.
Good afternoon, Jack! - said the wonderful little man and stopped next to him. “Where are you going?”
“Good afternoon, I don’t know your name,” Jack responded. “I’m going to the market to sell a cow.”
Sell it to me, and that’s the end of it,” suggested the short one.
“With pleasure,” Jack answered. “Anything is better than stomping back and forth in the heat.” How much will you give for it?
So much that you could never even dream of!
Come on! - Jack laughed. “What I dreamed about, I’m the only one who knows.”
Meanwhile, the little man took his little cat bag from his shoulder, rummaged through it, took out five simple beans and handed them to Jack on his palm:
Here you go. We'll be even.
What's happened? - Jack was amazed. - Five beans for a whole cow?
“Five beans,” the little man confirmed importantly. “But what kind of beans!” If you plant it in the evening, by morning they will grow to the very sky.
Can't be! - Jack exclaimed, looking at the beans. “And when they grow to the very sky, then what?”
Okay, hands on! - Jack agreed.
He was tired from walking and from the heat and was glad to turn home. In addition, he was filled with curiosity: what kind of curiosity is this?
He took the beans and gave the short man the cow. But where he drove her, in which direction, Jack did not notice.
It seems like they were just standing next to each other and suddenly disappeared - neither the cow nor the wonderful passerby.
Jack returned home and said to his mother:
I sold the little cow. Look at the wonderful price they gave me for it.” And he showed her five beans.
The next morning Jack woke up not as before. Usually the sun woke him up with its bright light in his face, but now the room was in twilight. "Is it raining outside, or what?" - Jack thought, jumped out of bed and looked out the window.
What miracles! Before his very eyes, a whole forest of stems, leaves and fresh green shoots swayed. Overnight the bean sprouts grew to the sky; an unprecedented, wonderful staircase rose in front of Jack: wide, powerful, green, sparkling in the sun.
“Well, well!” Jack said to himself. “Whatever mother says, the price is still not bad for one old cow! Let them call me a fool if this bean ladder does not reach the very sky. But what next?”
And then he remembered the words of yesterday’s little man: “Then see for yourself.”
“I’ll take a look,” Jack decided.
He climbed out of the window and began to climb up the beanstalk.
He climbed higher and higher, higher and higher. It's scary to think how high he had to climb before he finally reached the sky. A wide white road lay before him. He walked along this road and soon saw a huge house, and a huge woman was standing on the threshold of this huge house.
What a wonderful morning! - Jack greeted her. “And what a wonderful house you have, mistress!”
What do you want? - the giantess grumbled, looking at the boy suspiciously.
Good hostess! - answered Jack. “I haven’t had a crumb in my mouth since yesterday, and yesterday I was left without dinner.” Will you give me at least a tiny piece for breakfast?
For breakfast! - the giantess grinned. - Know that if you don’t get out of here quickly, you will become breakfast yourself.
How is this? - asked Jack.
And so, my husband is a giant who eats boys like this. Now he is on a walk, but if he returns and sees you, he will immediately cook it for breakfast.
Anyone would be scared by such words, but not Jack. His hunger was worse than fear. He begged and begged the giantess so much to give him at least something to eat that she finally took pity, let him into the kitchen and gave him some bread, cheese and milk. But he barely had time to swallow his breakfast when the heavy steps of a giant were heard outside the window: boom! Bom! Boom! Bom!
Oh, my kindness will backfire on me! - the giantess was alarmed. - Hurry up and get into the oven!
And she quickly pushed Jack into the huge, cooled oven and covered it with the damper. At that same moment, the door swung open and a terrible cannibal giant burst into the kitchen.
He sniffed, puffed loudly, like a bellows, and roared:
Ugh! Phew! Ugh! Wow!
I smell the human spirit!
Whether he's dead or alive -
It will be nice for me to live!
“You’re obviously getting old, hubby, and your sense of smell has become dull,” his wife objected. “It doesn’t smell like a person, but like the rhinoceroses that I cooked for you for breakfast.”
The giant did not like being reminded of old age. Grumbling and muttering, he sat down at the table and sullenly ate everything that the hostess served him. After that, he ordered her to bring her bags of gold - he had the habit of counting them after meals for better digestion.
The giantess brought the gold, put it on the table, and went out to look after the cattle. After all, all the work in the house was hers, and the giant did nothing - he just ate and slept. And now - as soon as he began to count his gold, he got tired, dropped his head on a pile of coins and began to snore. So much so that the whole house began to shake and shake.
Then Jack quietly got out of the oven, climbed up the table leg, grabbed one of the giant bags - the one that was closer - and took off with it - out the door and over the threshold and running along the wide white road until he came to the top of his bean stem.
There he put the bag in his bosom, went down to the ground, returned home and gave his mother the bag of gold. This time she didn’t scold him or hit him, but on the contrary, she kissed him and called him well done.
For a long time or a short time they lived on the gold that Jack brought, but it all came out, and they became the same poor people as before.
What should I do? Of course, the mother didn’t want to hear about letting Jack go to the giant again, but he himself decided otherwise. And then one morning, secretly from his mother, he climbed up the beanstalk - higher and higher, higher and higher, right up to the sky - and stepped onto the wide white road. Along that wide white road he came to the giant’s house, boldly opened the door and found himself in the kitchen, where the giant’s wife was preparing breakfast.
Good morning, hostess! - Jack greeted her.
Ahh, it's you! - said the giantess and leaned over to get a better look at the guest. “Where is the bag of gold?”
If I only knew that! - answered Jack. - Gold always disappears somewhere, it’s just miracles with it!
Miracles? - the giantess doubted. - So you don’t have it?
Judge for yourself, mistress, would I come to you to ask for a crust of bread if I had a bag of gold?
“Perhaps you’re right,” she agreed and handed Jack a piece of bread.
And suddenly - boom! boom! boom! boom! - the house shook from the steps of the cannibal. The hostess barely had time to push Jack into the oven and cover it with the damper when the cannibal burst into the kitchen.
Ugh! Phew! Ugh! Wow!
I smell the human spirit!
Whether he's dead or alive,
It will be nice for me to live! - the giant roared.
But his wife, as before, began to reproach him: they say that he does not smell of the human spirit, his sense of smell has simply become dull from old age. The giant did not like such conversations. He sullenly ate his breakfast and said:
Wife! Bring me the hen that lays the golden eggs.
The giantess brought him a chicken, and she went out to look after the cattle.
Put it down! - the giant ordered, and the hen immediately laid a golden egg.
Put it down! - he ordered again, and she laid a second golden egg.
This was repeated many times, until finally the giant got tired of this fun. He dropped his head on the table and snored deafeningly. Then Jack crawled out of the stove, grabbed the magic laying hen and ran away. But as he ran across the yard, the chicken clucked, and the giant's wife ran after him - she scolded loudly and shook her fist at Jack. Luckily, she got caught in her long skirt and fell, so Jack ran to the beanstalk and climbed down just in time.
Look what I brought, mom!
Jack put the chicken on the table and said: “Put it!” - and the golden egg rolled across the table. "Put it down!" - and the second golden egg appeared. And the third, and the fourth...
From then on, Jack and his mother could not be afraid of need, because the magic chicken would always give them as much gold as they wanted. So the mother took an ax and wanted to cut down the beanstalk. But Jack opposed this. He said that this was his stem, and he would cut it down himself when necessary. In fact, he decided to go to the giant once again. And Jack’s mother decided to cut down the stalk another time, without Jack knowing, so she hid the ax not far from the beans so that it would be at hand at the right time. And you will soon find out how useful it is!
Jack decided to visit the giant's house again. But this time he did not immediately go into the kitchen, fearing that the giant’s wife might break his neck in retaliation for the stolen chicken. He hid in the garden behind a bush, waited for the mistress to leave the house - she went to get water in a bucket - made his way to the kitchen and hid in the stall with flour.
Soon the giantess returned back and began to prepare breakfast, and there was her cannibal husband - boom! boom! boom! boom! - came back from a walk.
He noisily sniffed the air through his nostrils and screamed terribly:
Wife! I smell the human spirit! I hear thunder strike me! I smell it, I smell it!!!
“It’s probably the thief who stole the chicken,” answered the wife. “He’s probably in the oven.”
But there was no one in the stove. They searched the entire kitchen, but never thought to look into the flour stall. After all, no one would even think of looking for a boy in flour!
Eh, anger dismantles! - said the giant after breakfast. - Bring me, wife, my golden harp - it will console me.
The hostess put the harp on the table and went out to look after the cattle.
Sing, harp! - the giant ordered.
And the harp sang, so sweetly and comfortingly, like the birds of the forest do not sing. The giant listened and listened and soon began to nod off. A minute later, and he was already snoring with his head on the table.
Then Jack got out of the flour stall, climbed up the table leg, grabbed the harp and took off running. But as he jumped over the threshold, the harp rang loudly and called: “Master! Master!” The giant woke up and looked out the door.
He saw Jack running away along the wide white road with a harp in his hands, roared and gave chase. Jack ran like a hare running for its life, and the giant rushed after him with huge leaps and filled the whole sky with a wild roar.
However, if he had roared less and used more strength, he probably would have caught up with Jack. But the stupid giant was out of breath and hesitated. He was already reaching out his hand as he ran to grab the boy, but he still managed to run to the beanstalk and began to quickly, quickly climb down, without letting go of the harp from his hands.
The giant stopped at the edge of heaven and became thoughtful. He touched and even shook the beanstalk, wondering if it could bear his weight. But at this time the harp once again called him from below: “Master! Master!” - and he made up his mind: he grabbed the stem with both hands and began to climb down. Leaves and fragments of branches flew like rain from above, the entire huge green staircase bent and swayed. Jack looked up and saw that the giant was gaining on him.
Mother! Mother! - he shouted. “Axe!” Bring the ax quickly!
But you didn’t have to look for the ax for long: as you remember, it was already hidden in the grass right under the beanstalk. The mother grabbed it, waited a moment and, as soon as Jack jumped to the ground, cut the stem with one blow. The bulk trembled, wavered, and fell to the ground with great noise and a crash, and with it, with a great noise and crack, the giant fell to the ground and was crushed to death.
From then on, Jack and his mother lived happily and comfortably. They built themselves a new house to replace their old, dilapidated house. They even say that Jack married the princess. Whether this is so, I don’t know. Maybe not on the princess. But it is true that they lived for many, many years in peace and harmony. And if sometimes despondency or fatigue visited them, Jack took out a golden harp, put it on the table and said:
Sing, harp!
And all their sadness dissipated without a trace.
Illustrations: John Patience
Once upon a time there was a boy named Jack. His father died long ago, and he and his mother were left alone. They were very poor. More precisely, they had nothing except one single cow that gave them milk.
But, alas, the day came when the cow stopped milking, and Jack’s mother decided that it would be better to sell her then. She ordered to take the cow to the nearest town and sell it there at the fair. “Yes, as expensive as possible,” she strictly punished. Jack hit the road. But as soon as he walked a couple of miles, he saw a strange short old man, barely reaching his shoulder, walking along the road towards him.
Hello boy! “Sell me your cow,” the old man suggested. - And in payment I will give you five bean grains. If you plant them in the ground, then very soon they will make you rich.
Before Jack had time to utter a word in response, the old man disappeared along with the cow, as if he had never existed at all. Jack wondered if he had done the right thing by agreeing to such an exchange. What will your mother say to this? But the job was done and with a heavy heart he went back home.
How? Why did you come back so soon? - the mother was surprised. - Well, how many coins did you sell the cow for?
For five bean grains.
What a dumbass you are! We need money so badly, there is nothing to eat in the house! - Mother shouted at Jack. - And how could you come up with such a thing!
She grabbed the beans and threw them out the window, and sent Jack to bed hungry. When Jack woke up the next morning, he could not recognize his little room. She was all flooded
pleasant greenish light. Jack went to the window and saw an amazing picture - the beans that his mother threw out of the window yesterday sprouted overnight, their shoots intertwined into a huge stem that went high, high into the sky.
Jack carefully got dressed so as not to wake his still sleeping mother, climbed over the windowsill straight onto the stem and began to climb up it. He was simply sure that the wealth that the old man told him about was waiting for him up there.
Jack rose higher and higher. He looked down - the ground was so far away that he became scared, he felt dizzy, and Jack almost fell and fell. He decided not to look down anymore and stubbornly climbed up. Finally he got to the clouds, climbed a little higher and saw a long road.
Jack walked along the road and soon saw a huge castle ahead. He walked to the castle gate and knocked. Soon a huge woman opened the door for him.
Get out of here as quickly as possible,” she advised Jack. “If my giant husband finds you here, he will eat you.”
Oh, I beg you, have mercy on me! – Jack begged. – I’m so hungry, do you have anything to eat?
The giantess took pity on Jack. She led him into the kitchen and gave him a piece of bread with cheese. As soon as Jack had time to eat, heavy footsteps were heard outside the door and a thunderous voice roared:
Bang, bang, bang, bang,
I feel the human spirit.
Whether you are alive or dead,
It's all over for you.
Oh my God, it's my husband! You're finished! - the giantess cried. - Hurry up and get into the oven!
The giant burst into the kitchen, looked around suspiciously, sniffed, but his wife calmed him down.
“It can’t smell like anything here except my oatmeal,” she said, putting a giant bowl of porridge on the table.
The giant grumbled some more and began to eat the porridge. Having emptied the bowl, he took several bags from the cupboard, poured a whole bunch of gold coins out of one of them onto the table and began to count them.
One, two, three, four...
The longer he counted, the more often he yawned and, having counted to ten, fell soundly asleep. All this time Jack was spying on the giant through the crack in the stove door. And, hearing snoring, he came out of the stove and climbed onto the table, grabbed a bag of gold coins and started running.
This gold lasted a long time for Jack and his mother, but the day came when they spent the last coin. Then Jack decided to climb up the beanstalk again and get more money. So he did. The giantess recognized him immediately and asked where the bag of gold had gone.
“I’ll tell you everything,” Jack promised her, “just please feed me first.”
The giantess took Jack into the castle and gave him something to eat. Heavy footsteps were heard outside the door again, and again Jack had to hide. After feeding her husband, the giantess brought him a small chicken.
Chicken, come on, lay an egg for me! - the giant ordered, and the hen indeed immediately laid an egg and it was made of pure gold. Soon the giant fell asleep. Then Jack got out of the oven, grabbed a wonderful chicken, ran out of the castle and quickly descended along the beanstalk down to the ground straight into his garden.
How happy the mother was with their new chicken! She could not get enough of her, seeing more and more golden eggs every time.
Now we will never go hungry,” she said.
Time passed, but Jack began to get bored and decided to climb the beanstalk once again. He guessed that the giantess would not be happy with him, and so he waited until she left the castle to hang up her laundry, and he sneaked into the castle and hid in a copper pot.
Soon the giant came home and, sniffing the air, shouted:
Buh, buh, buh, buh,
I feel the human spirit!
Whether you are alive or dead,
It's all over for you.
But then the giantess came and began to assure her husband that he had imagined it. The giant calmed down and sat down at the table to eat. Having eaten his fill, he shouted:
Come on, wife, bring my harp!
The wife brought the harp and placed it on the table.
Sing, harp! - the giant ordered, and the harp tenderly sang a lullaby.
Soon the giant fell asleep and Jack got out of his hiding place, tiptoed to the table, grabbed the harp and started to run. But this time he was not as lucky as before: the harp suddenly shouted loudly: “Master! Master!" - the giant woke up and ran after the thief. Out of fear, Jack ran faster than the wind and, having reached the beanstalk, began to quickly go down.
Suddenly Jack heard a terrible crash and roar, from which Jack and the beanstalk began to shake - it was the giant descending after him! Jack began to descend even faster.
Mother! – he shouted, finding himself on the ground. - Bring the ax quickly!
Grabbing the axe, Jack swung it, slashed at the beanstalk and cut it down with three blows. The beanstalk swayed - its top appeared from behind the clouds - and fell to the ground with all its strength. And along with the beanstalk, the giant himself collapsed with a terrible roar and crash. The earth shook - from the blow the giant made such a huge hole in it that he could not get out of it.
The beanstalk withered, but it didn’t matter anymore because the hen diligently laid golden eggs, and the harp sang, and Jack and his mother never needed again.
End
English fairy tales for children. Jack and the Beanstalk
Play Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack and the Beanstalk
THERE was once upon a time a poor widow who had an only son named Jack, and a cow named Milky-white. 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 milk, 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 a shop, or something.’
‘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.
‘Well, Jack, and where are you off to?’ said the man.
‘I’m going to market to sell our cow there.’
‘Oh, 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,’ says Jack, as sharp as a needle.
‘Right you are,’ says 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,’ he says, ‘I don’t mind doing a swap with you–your cow for these beans.’
‘Go along,’ 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?’ said 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 dusk 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! And as for your precious beans here they go out of the window. And now off with you to bed. Not a sup shall you drink, and not a bit shall you swallow this very night.’
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 beanstalk which went up and up and till it reached the sky. So the man spoke the 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 ladder. So Jack climbed, 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, and on the doorstep there was a great big tall woman.
‘Good morning, mum,’ says Jack, quite polite-like. ‘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 ogre and there’s nothing he likes better than boys broiled on toast. You’d better be moving on or he’ll 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 was not half so bad 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 oven 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,
I smell the blood of an Englishman,
Be he alive, or be he dead,
I’ll have his bones to grind 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 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,’ she says; ‘he always has a dose after breakfast.’
Well, the ogre had his breakfast, and after that he goes to a big chest and takes out a couple of bags of gold, and down he sits and counts 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, 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: 'Welt, 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 it, and Jack made up his mind to try his tuck once more 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 came out on to the road again and up to the great tall house he had 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 so 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.’ 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’. 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, 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 got 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. 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 boy you caught last night that I’ve just broiled for your breakfast. How forgetful I am, and how careless you are not to know the difference between live and dead after all these years.’
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 harp 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 up he crawled, 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. 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 ax in her hand, but when she came to the beanstalk she stood stock still with fright, for there she saw the ogre with his legs just through the clouds.
But Jack jumped down and got hold of the ax 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 ax, 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.
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, and they lived happy ever after.
Composer Randy Miller Editing Andrew Cohen Cinematographer Brian Bough Writers Flip Cobbler, Cindy Marcus Designers Julia Shklair, Michael Walsh
Did you know that
- In the original tale, what was sold for beans was not a video game of a cow, but a real animal.
- The harp maker's name is Very Sedious, which plays on his emotional state: very sad.
- Pillow fighting is the invention of the director, who is a fan of martial arts; in order for the clash to fit into the children's category of the film, exactly the same “weapons” of ninjas were used.
- The lumberjack who states that he would like to work in a pet supply store is a reference to the Monty Python episode about the dead parrot, where the situation is exactly the opposite.
- Christopher Lloyd as a teacher works in a classroom where there is a drawing of Doc Brown's time travel device from the famous film "Back to the Future" - the actor played this character in 1985.
More facts (+2)
Errors in the film
- Jack's computer toy is with the teacher during class, but after class the boy takes it out of his desk.
- The grocery shelf in Jack's house has been empty for a very long time, it is covered in dust and covered in cobwebs, and the boy is surprised by this, as if he had just found out that there is no food.
- In the ninja pillow fight scene, the white warrior is presented as Chloe Moretz, but in the two-second or longer footage, it is clear that the fighter is of Asian appearance and is significantly taller.
Plot
Beware, the text may contain spoilers!
In the atmosphere of a chic noir, a little boy pursues a villain in a night metropolis and rescues a beautiful girl from captivity. But these are just fantasies: in reality, schoolboy Jack is sitting in a very ordinary lesson in an ordinary school for fairy-tale characters.
The strict teacher threatens to leave him for the second year, because the careless student never decided on a real feat.
Confused Jack accidentally obtains bean grains. One of them is eaten by Grace's pet goose and becomes magical, the rest sprout into giant stems.
The boy and the goose rise above the clouds and meet the girl Gillian. Together they must free her friend, who has been turned into a harp by an evil giant. A new acquaintance turns out to be a traitor and leads them straight into the clutches of a giant.
The villain admits that he manipulated the girl, so she goes over to Jack's side, this time for good. Children learn the truth about their own fathers, who languished in the giant's dungeon, and their common pain brings them closer together.
Meanwhile, Jack's mother is doing everything possible to prevent the town authorities from cutting down the mysterious stems: she understands that this is the only way home from heaven for her son.
Together, the children steal the harp and free it from the spell, then descend to earth. Goose Grayson retains his magical abilities and demands that the stern teacher Jack count the school year. A righteous wish is fulfilled, and the boy accepts congratulations from his friends.
