Jack and the Beanstalk: the Real Story--Part I

Many, many years ago, when I was a small country boy, I always wondered why people listened to (and enjoyed!) the story of Jack and his beanstalk. To me, Jack sounded like a terrible wreck of a human being. At his age (which was my age too), and in a remarkably short time, he managed to become: a thief, a traitor (to the giant's wife, who was so kind to him on their first encounter), a housebreaker, and a killer. And my, my, my, how happy everyone could be with Jack getting away with all those heinous crimes!

Did he really have to repeatedly encroach on the giant's property and deprive him of his most treasured possessions just because he and his mother were poor?

Did he really have to kill the giant?

Wouldn't it have been a better choice for him to start some kind of work in order to legally bring his gold home?

That story simply put our parents in the position to teach us, children, to cheat, steal, housebreak and kill in order to bring food to our starving stomachs.

I happened, however, years later, to stumble upon Jack's real story. He was not a thief, a traitor, a housebreaker, and a giant killer (excuse the pun).

In reality, Jack was a bringer of justice.

How did I get to learn the real story? Well, that is a story in itself, one I will not go into right now. I fact, a storyteller rarely tells his own story. Yet, one day, I may decide to let you know how I discovered the actual facts.

Why was Jack a bringer of justice? Yeah, that's the right question. Come now, listen... and find out why.

Once upon a time there was a very happy family of three: Jack, Jack's Mother, and Jack's Father. They had everything they needed: they had a house, a cow, a horse, a wagon, and an axe.

Their house was a wooden cottage, just outside a large, deep, dark forest. The cottage was small, but always warm and cozy–which made it perfectly fit for the three of them. Their courtyard was just the right size for a boy and his loving parents to play around and enjoy themselves on weekends–and for their cow Rose to play around and enjoy herself all the time. The horse, wagon, and axe were Jack's Father's tools of the trade, as he was a woodcutter.

And Jack's Mother? Well, she was a dream writer. She dreamt of something new every night; and every morning she composed an essay based on her latest dream.

And what did they do all day long? Hmm, I already told you what they did on weekends. On regular day, this is what happened.

Jack's father would wake up very early in the morning. He would pick up his lunch basket, hitch the horse to the wagon, put the axe on the wagon and leave for the large, deep, dark forest. He'd look for old, rotting trees. He'd fell those trees down and cut them up into pieces. He'd load the wood pieces onto the wagon, carry them to the town market and sell them for some money. He'd use the money to buy food for the family. He was always back home before dark.

Jack's Mother and Jack would wake up long after Jack's father had left. She'd fix up some breakfast while Jack would prepare himself for school. They'd have their sunny-side up eggs, milk and cereal, porridge, orange juice, baked apples, toast and honey. Jack would leave for school and Jack's Mother'd sit down at her desk and write down her latest night's dream. Then she'd milk the cow, clean up the house, do the laundry, cook lunch and dinner, prepare her husband's next day brown-bagged lunch, welcome Jack home from school, help Jack with his homework... It was Jack's Mother, not Jack himself, who was the Jack-of-all-trades of the family!

And Jack? Just school and play. What else?

To continue reading the story, please go to Part II.