Episode 55 - Jack and the Beanstalk

You lived far from town, in a small cottage. With the exception of the town a few miles away, only your mother and an old dairy cow were your company.

Your cottage was simple, and poor. With only the cow’s milk for income, you lived a life of meager means.

In spite of that, you were, in general, content. Until one day, the cow went dry. With no way of making ends meet, your mother instructed you to take the cow into town, to the market, and sell it.

So, early the next morning, you packed a light bag, took the cow’s lead, and began toward town.

The walk would take about an hour, especially given your meandering pace. This road was only used very occasionally, mostly by you or your mother on your way to town. Which is why you were surprised to see someone else on the road. Walking, but very slowly. Leaning heavily upon a tall walking stick.

As you passed the strange, bent figure, they spoke in a wispy voice. Barely audible over the breeze and rustling grass.

“Excuse me,” they rasped, “I have many fine wares, if you wish to trade.”

You apologized to the strange trader, explaining, you had nothing to trade with. Only the old, dairy cow-gone dry that you were taking to market.

The person thought for a moment than exclaimed. “A fine cow such as this makes a good trade. I offer, in exchange for this old, dairy cow, this bag of magic beans.”

For a moment, you thought better of the deal. This cow was all you and your mother had left. If you traded it away for beans… But they were magic… Perhaps it wasn’t such a bad deal after all.

With a long pause for thought, you finally agreed. The old trader took the lead, and handed you a small brown pouch. Inside you could feel a few hardened beans. The cow now having been traded away, you had no reason to continue toward town. You turned back toward home, your strange prize in hand.

Jack is a common man. The most ordinary of folk heroes. In fact, Jack is not one person but many, each the protagonist in their own folk story. He is often poor, and faces some creature, and usually reaches the end of his story a much wealthier and more prosperous man. Jack is often lazy, or foolish, but uses cleverness and trickery to emerge victorious time and time again.

One Jack tale in particular is, without a doubt, the most widely known; the most often retold and revised. The story of Jack and the Beanstalk.

This story, with roots some five thousand years old and published as early as 1734, features a well-known figure of English folklore: Jack, a common man and hero. Over the course of time, Jack has faced off against ogres, witches, and all manner of strange creature.

As with any folk story, there are variations on the Beanstalk story throughout different regions and over the course of time, but certainly a small number of versions have risen to prominence.

I am Andrew Eagle, and I am excited to invite you to join me as I pass Through the Veil, climb the Beanstalk, and explore the giant’s castle in Jack and the Beanstalk.

When you returned home, your mother asked where the money from selling the cow was. Of course, you told her about the strange trader, and the magic beans. You showed her the pouch with its mysterious contents, and dumped the beans out in her hands, so she might see what you traded the cow for.

She exclaimed, angry and distraught. She called you a fool and complained that now you truly had nothing. With an exasperated shout, she threw the beans out the kitchen window in anger.

You hurried outside to look for the beans, but try as you might, you could not find even a single one. Finally, dejected, you were forced to give up your search as day faded into night. You returned inside, sad and frustrated, and after a simple dinner, made your way to sleep.

You were startled awake the next morning by your mother shouting. You sprang to your feet and rushed to her side in the kitchen to investigate. She was pointing out the window so you turned to see what had scared her so. Your mouth fell open as you saw it… A beanstalk, massive and towering. You hurried outside to see the full extent of the stalk.

It was taller than your house by far, stretching thirty or forty feet into the air. And as impossible as it was, you could see it still growing, reaching and curling upward.

All day it grew, until its top vanished into the clouds and its massive leaves cast gigantic shadows down across the area. Finally, your curiosity got the better of you. You filled your pack with a little food and you began to climb.

The climb was difficult at first, but shortly, it grew easier. Where the leaves connected to the stalk were thick enough to hold your weight, and made for easy grips for your hands. Several times throughout the climb, you stopped, sitting and resting on the tangled mass of leaves and pods to catch your breath or eat a snack. Your climb had started late in the day, and so as the light began to fail, you tied yourself to a set of leaves, and slept. When the morning came, you untied yourself and began climbing again, cautious as the stalk was slippery with morning dew.

Finally, you climbed into the bottom of the clouds. The beanstalk was the only thing you could see through the clouds. The world below having completely faded from vision. Then, suddenly, you broke through the top and peered out at a strange world atop the clouds. A massive, looming castle was constructed atop the clouds near the curling top of the beanstalk where you hung. Carefully, you pulled yourself up from the leaves of the beanstalk onto the cloud-top, and stood, gazing up at the massive castle.

You made your way toward it, clambering up a series of mossy stones through a window and into a kitchen of gigantic proportions. You spent the day exploring the strange castle freely. The wealth of the castle was immense. You saw art and gems and gold, and just as you considered taking some of the gold, you heard the gate open. Massive footfalls approached, and you quickly hid. The giant which entered your vision towered above you, dragging some unfortunate creature, an ox from the look of it, to the kitchen for dinner. As soon as the giant left the room, you filled your bag with golden coins and made good your escape. The climb down the beanstalk went quickly and by that evening you were home showing off the riches you had found to your mother.

She told you not to return, that giants were dangerous, and while you said you would not climb back up the beanstalk, you were already planning your next trip.

The second trip went even more smoothly than the first. You hid in the castle during the day, and overheard the giant speaking to his wife the giantess. You learned of the unbelievable treasures which were contained within the castle. That night, while the giants were sleeping, you crept from your hiding place and retrieved one of the treasures, a hen that lays golden eggs. You placed the hen, clucking lightly, into your bag and rushed back home.

Still, in spite of this bounty, there was one more treasure you felt compelled to retrieve - a magical harp which would play itself.

So you set back up the beanstalk, and sneaking into the treasury once more, you found the harp. You had made it to the kitchen, and had reached the beanstalk when in your excitement you called out in celebration. Only after the massive gate opened and you heard the booming voice of the giant calling thief across the cloud-top did you realize you may have made a mistake.

You were caught, and your only chance was to run. Rushing down the beanstalk in the dark, your hands and feet slipping on the damp beanstalk. Twice you tumbled, losing your grip and falling a short ways before catching a leaf or stem.

Above you, the clouds rumbled. If you didn’t know it was an angry giant, it would have sounded like the beginning of a powerful thunderstorm.

You were halfway down the beanstalk when you saw the giant break through the bottom of the clouds, climbing the stalk down after you.

He shouted down in a booming voice, threatening you with all manner of unpleasant thing. Telling you he would grind your bones to make his bread.

He was gaining on you. You began going faster and faster, rushing toward the ground. As you neared you called out to your mother to fetch an ax. She met you by the beanstalk and you immediately jumped into action chopping through the beanstalk. The giant didn’t realize what was happening until it was too late. You chopped the beanstalk down and it slammed into the ground, crushing its angry occupant beneath it.

There would be no fourth trip to the giant’s castle, but you and your family would live, wealthy and happy, for the rest of your lives.

While there are countless variations on the story, Jack and the Beanstalk has two primary versions.

All of them are based on the archaic story-form “The Boy Who Stole Ogre’s Treasure,” and folklorists believe that the Jack and Beanstalk as a unique story within that form originated five thousand or more years ago.

The first version printed was titled “The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean” in 1734. Shortly thereafter came the first of the two most common versions: Benjamin Tabart’s “The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk” which was a heavily moralized version, making the giant out to be much more a villain, and Jack to be much more a hero than previous versions.

Several other versions were published throughout the 1800s until the second most common version was published in 1890. Joseph Jacobs published Jack and the Beanstalk in a book entitled “English Fairy Tales” and his is the most common version reprinted today. Folklorists believe that Jacobs’ version is much closer to the oral versions than any previous version and it became the widely recognized version we have today.

The story has been told and retold in oral tradition, written form, and adapted into films and television shows. In some versions, Jack is a hero, in others, he is certainly not. But all involve a giant, a magic bean, and the man Jack himself.

Jack and the Beanstalk is a story going back thousands of years. Whether Jack is shown as a hero or a thief, and whether the giant is truly a villain, or the victim of Jack’s greed; depends on the version. Some versions have clear morals, others avoid them, leaning toward simple entertainment.

But all are rooted in the same place.

Thank you for joining me for this episode of Through the Veil. I hope you enjoyed. I encourage you to subscribe to receive new episodes when they are released wherever you listen as we continue our exploration of folklore, myth, and magic.

Music this week was: Exploration by Artificial.Music

If you are enjoying the show, and have subjects you would like to hear covered, please email me at throughtheveilpodcast@gmail.com or reach out on Twitter, you can find me @ThroughVeil.

As always, thank you, for listening.