Jack and the Beanstalk - UK English accent

Jack and the Beanstalk (A version of the tale by TheFableCottage.com)

Once there was a young man named Jack who lived with his mother on a small farm at the base of the Foggy Mountains. They were very poor and relied on selling milk from their cow, Bess, to survive. One morning, Jack's mother woke him up crying. "Jack, wake up! Go to the market today and sell our cow, Bess."

"Why?" Jack asked, still yawning.

"We need money to fix our house," she replied. "There are holes in the roof, the windows are broken, and we don't even have a front door. Winter is coming, and if we don't repair the house, the cold will kill us!"

Jack packed his bag, fetched Bess, and set off for the market. As he left, his mother called out, "She is worth at least five gold coins! Don’t sell her for less!"

On his way, Jack met an old man. "Good morning, my boy!" said the man. "Where are you going?"

"Good morning, sir," Jack replied. "I'm going to sell my cow, Bess."

"She is a beautiful cow," the man said. "I will buy her and give you a very good deal!"

“How much will you pay?" asked Jack. “I won’t take less than five gold coins!”

“I don't have five gold coins," whispered the man. "But I have these five black beans! They are magic beans, worth more than gold! If you take these beans, you will be richer than the richest man in the world.”

Jack thought about his mother and how happy she would be if they were rich. They could repair the house and maybe even buy a new cow.

"Okay," Jack said. "You’ve got a deal. Give me the beans!"

Jack ran home, excited to show his mother the beans, but she was furious. “You foolish boy! You traded our only cow for a handful of beans?!” She threw the beans out the window and cried by the fire. Jack felt devastated and ashamed. They no longer had a cow, and now they were poorer than ever.

The next morning, Jack saw something strange outside. In the spot where his mother had thrown the beans, there was a giant, green beanstalk. It reached all the way to the clouds. “The beans are magic!” whispered Jack. "The old man told the truth!"

While his mother was still asleep, Jack decided to climb the beanstalk to find the riches the old man had promised. "Just five gold coins," thought Jack. "That's all I need to make my mother happy."

Jack climbed higher and higher into the clouds. When he reached the top, he saw a castle in the distance. "Maybe I can find something to eat in that castle…" he thought. Jack knocked on the castle door, and a giantess, as big as a house but with a warm smile, answered.

"Excuse me, Mrs. Giant," said Jack. "Could you please give me something to eat? I am so hungry!"

"Oh, you poor boy!" she said. "Of course! Come in!"

The kind giantess gave Jack some vegetable stew. He was enjoying it so much that he didn't notice when the kitchen table started to shake. Stomp... Stomp... Stomp… Loud footsteps echoed down the hallway.

"Oh dear," whispered the giantess. "That is my husband! He is home from work! He doesn't like humans! Quick! Hide!"

Jack hid in the pantry. The giant stomped into the kitchen and sniffed the air. "FEE FI FO FUM! ... Hello my beautiful wife! Wait! Do I smell a human man? YUCK! WHERE IS HE?"

"Good evening, my darling husband," replied the giantess. "There is nobody here. You smell the vegetable stew, nothing more."

"Good," grunted the giant. "I hate humans."

He sat down at the table and took out a small sack of gold coins, counting them one by one. Jack watched from inside the pantry. "Five gold coins!" thought Jack. "If I had that money, I could fix our house!"

When the giants left the room, Jack stole the five gold coins and slipped them into his bag. "This is all I need!" thought Jack. But then he remembered they no longer had a cow. Without a cow, they would starve. He decided to stay and look for more treasures.

Jack followed the giant into the living room and hid under the couch. The giant pulled out a golden hen. “Hello, my beautiful hen! Lay, please!" The hen laid a golden egg. Jack watched from under the couch. "A hen that lays golden eggs!" whispered Jack. "If I had that hen, I could buy fifty cows!"

When the giant left the room, Jack took the hen and put it in his bag. "This is all I need…" thought Jack. But then Jack thought about what the old man had promised. He imagined being richer than the richest man in the world. He decided to see what other treasures he could find.

Jack followed the giant into the bedroom and hid under the bed. There was a golden harp standing in a corner. "Hello, my beautiful harp. Play, please!" said the giant. The harp played music by itself. "Wow! A magic harp!" whispered Jack. "That harp would make me rich and famous!"

When the giant fell asleep, Jack took the magic harp and put it in his bag. But this time, the harp screamed, “Help me, master! A human is stealing me!” The giant woke up and saw Jack with the magic harp, the golden hen, and his gold coins. "STOP, THIEF!" he roared.

The giant chased Jack out of the bedroom, down the hallway, through the kitchen, and out the front door. But Jack was smaller and faster. He reached the beanstalk first and slid down with all his treasures. The giant, afraid of heights, slowly climbed down, looking very cautious.

"BE CAREFUL, MY HUSBAND!" shouted the giantess from the castle. "HUMANS CAN BE DANGEROUS!"

Jack saw the giant coming down the beanstalk and ran into his house to grab an axe. He chopped the beanstalk. Whack! Whack! Whack! Suddenly, the beanstalk snapped. The giant tumbled down from the sky, landing far away on the other side of the Foggy Mountains. Thud! For a moment, everything was silent. Then Jack heard a strange sound from far away. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooooooo!" It was the giant. The beanstalk had fallen, and now he had no way to get back up to his castle in the clouds. The giant's yell shook the clouds and made them turn grey. And then, Jack heard Mrs. Giant crying. Her tears fell through the clouds and soaked the earth.

After that, Jack and his mother lived comfortably. The golden hen made Jack a millionaire, and the magic harp made him famous. Jack married a rich woman, and they had ten children. But Jack was never truly happy. Each time the wind blew, he heard the giant calling for his wife. And whenever it rained, he felt the giant wife's tears falling on him, filling him with sadness and guilt.

One day, when Jack was very old, he decided he didn't want to be sad anymore. He opened a box on his mantelpiece and took out one last shrivelled magic bean. If he could find the giant, he could grow another beanstalk, allowing the giant to return to his castle. He could also apologise for his greed. Jack packed his bag and walked into the Misty Mountains.

Did Jack find the giant? Did he grow a new beanstalk? Nobody knows. But people say, if you listen closely during a thunderstorm, you can hear the rumbling sound of two giants dancing together in the clouds.