Fairy Tale and Folktale Fridays #20: Jack and the Beanstalk

Hey there!  Welcome to "Fairy Tale and Folktale Fridays," a new feature on my blog where I discuss about some fairy tales and folktales I have read throughout the years.

Jack and the Beanstalk

 

Type: Fairy Tale

Country of Origin: England

Main Character Hero or Heroine: Hero

Recommend?: Yes! 

Once upon a time, there lived a mother and her young son Jack, who had a cow that was able to give out the best milk in the country.  One day, unfortunately, the cow stopped giving milk and they were forced to sell the cow and Jack decides to take the task of selling the cow.  Along the way, Jack meets up with a strange old man who then gives him some beans and claims that they are magic beans.  Jack then sells the cow to the old man for the beans and when he takes the beans home to his mother, his mother gets angry at him for selling the cow for some measly beans and she ends up throwing the beans out the window.  The next morning, Jack discovers that the beans had grown into a giant beanstalk and he decides to go up the beanstalk to see what is at the top.  When Jack reaches the top of the beanstalk, he encounters a giant woman who decides to take pity on Jack and give him something to eat.  But then Jack realizes that the woman lives with a ferocious giant and Jack has to hide from the giant.  It was then that Jack discovers that the giant possesses three precious items: a hen that lays golden eggs, a bag of gold and a golden harp.  Jack then proceeds to steal all of these objects so that he can take it to his poor mother and they can get rich from these items.

I have always enjoyed this fairy tale ever since I was little and I thought it was pretty interesting about how a pair of magic beans would grow into a large beanstalk and somehow, a giant lives up in the clouds!  I know it sounds weird, but this is a fairy tale after all and I just enjoyed the uniqueness of this tale.  I will admit that I was a bit taken aback about Jack stealing the giant's items, but hopefully there are retellings of this tale that doesn't have Jack stealing the Giant's items.
 

1. How do you feel about Jack stealing the giant's items?

I will admit that I was a bit taken aback about the whole situation, even if the giant is portrayed as being the villain in this story.  It just doesn't seem right either way about Jack stealing the giant's possessions, although there are some versions of this story where the giant actually stole Jack's possessions a long time ago, which makes more sense for Jack to take them back.


  2. What other way could Jack and his mother make money to provide for themselves?

Either Jack or his mother could find a job that could suit their abilities and they could make some money from there.

  

 

Jack and the Beanstalk by Eric Metaxas; illustrated by Edward Sorel

 

 

Jack and the Beanstalk by Steven Kellogg

 

 

 

Jack and the Beanstalk by Susan Pearson; illustrated by James Warhola

  

Jack and the Beanstalk by Susana Davidson; illustrated by Lorena Alvarez

 

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