Jack felt a little tired, and thought for a moment that he would go back again but he was a very persevering boy, and he knew that the way to succeed in anything is not to give up. Jack instantly began to climb, and went up and up on the ladder-like bean till every thing he had left behind him, the cottage, the village, and even the tall church tower, looked quite little, and still he did not see the top of the bean stalk. His mother wished him not to venture up this strange ladder, but Jack coaxed her to give her consent to the attempt, for he was certain there must be something wonderful in the bean-stalk. “I wonder where it goes?” said Jack to his mother “I think I will climb up and see.” Greatly surprised, he called his mother, and they both gazed in silent wonder at the bean-stalk, which was not only of great height, but was thick enough to bear Jack’s weight. The next morning when he got up, he found that the beans had grown, till the bean stalks reached right over the top of the hill, and were lost to his sight. He was very sorry but, he said, he might as well make the best of his bargain, so he put the seed-beans into the ground close by the side of the steep hill under shelter of which their cottage was built, and went to bed. When he brought them home to his mother instead of the money she expected for her nice cow, she was very vexed and shed many tears, scolding Jack for his folly. Jack stopped to look at them, and the butcher told the boy that they were of great value, and persuaded him to sell the cow for them! And Jack was so silly as to consent to this foolish bargain. Jack liked going to market to sell the cow very much but as he was on the way, he met a butcher who had some beautiful beans in his hand. “I am too weak to go myself, Jack, so you must take the cow to market for me, and sell her.” The widow saw that there was no means of keeping Jack and herself from starvation but by selling her cow so one morning she said to her son, Jack did no work as yet, and by degrees they grew dreadfully poor. There had been a hard winter, and after it the poor woman had suffered from fever and ague. Jack was a giddy, thoughtless boy, but very kind-hearted and affectionate. Once upon a time there was a poor widow who lived in a little cottage with her only son Jack. We would encourage parents to read beforehand if your child is sensitive to such themes. This is a vintage fairy tale, and may contain violence.
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