Jack and the Beanstalk

Another Monday, another post!  Greetings, all.  Today I have another post in my series about fairy tales without dead moms (or wicked stepmothers).  Let's jump right into it!

A fairy tale with its origins in England, Jack and the Beanstalk is fairly well-known in the western part of the world.  Recent movie adaptations and novels have helped keep it in the public eye.  Still, it's one of the few fairy tales where the mother is both decent and alive.

Jack and the Beanstalk is a story about a single mother raising her child. The family is very poor.  Seeking to change their luck, Jack trades their cow for a handful of beans.

When Jack returns with his "magic beans", his mother despairs. She throws the beans outside in her anger. Luckily for Jack and his mom, the beans actually are magical. They sprout a massive beanstalk which climbs the sky into the home of the giants.  Jack climbs the beanstalk during the night.

At the top he finds a castle, in which he meets the giant's wife. She helps him hide when her husband returns home. Once the male giant is sleeping, Jack steals his treasure and makes a run for it. The next night he returns to the giants' domain and steals again. On the third night Jack is spotted. The boy flees, climbing down the beanstalk and calling for his mother to bring an axe. With her help the beanstalk is chopped down. The male giant falls to his death (which is justified in some stories by the excuse that the giant had killed Jack's father).

Though his mother doubted him about the magical beans, she helped Jack when it most mattered. The two live happily ever after on the riches gathered from the giant's home.  Yay for happy endings!

I'll be back next week with a special post, before returning with another story of a good fairy tale mom!