The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean

"The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean,"

 A Version of Jack and the Beanstalk,

England, AD 1734,

Adapted from the story from the pamphlet Round about our Coal Fire.

“Good folks, Jack was a lazy, dirty young man who lived with his grandmother. The house they lived in was nothing more than a cottage and only had two rooms. His grandmother instructed him in many things and told him a story of a bean. ‘I have a Bean in my House which will make your Fortune; you shall be richer than an Emperor, you shall have the whole World at your Command; and as you now grow strong…I design to give it thee, my Boy, one Day or other.’ Jack was impatient and wanted the bean immediately to become rich. He told her he would love her even more if she gave him the bean now. Jack’s grandmother told him that if she gave him the bean now that he would become wasteful and forget her. The next morning, Jack was making the fire for his grandmother when their cat started scratching at the ashes and clawed out the Enchanted Bean. His grandmother had dropped it out of her leather purse by accident. Jack decided to put the bean in the garden and see what would grow. He loved to eat beans and bacon and thought he would get more beans, but what happened was not what he expected. The bean started to sprout and grew so quickly that it hit Jack in the nose causing him to be hurt. He ran to his grandmother asking her to save him as he thought the hit from the sprout would kill him. His grandmother told him that she now only had an hour before she was transformed, but instead of helping his grandmother, Jack started to climb the beanstalk which was continuing to grow. His grandmother started following him up the tree with a broom, but Jack was a quicker climber, and she could not catch him. She went back down the beanstalk and cried. After an hour, she was turned into a monstrous Toad and crawled into a cellar. The beanstalk had grown 40 miles by now, and Jack continued to climb until he found a village that had grown into the stalk. He stopped in and asked for food but was told there was nothing for him. He was so upset. Before he could get angry, the top of the house was torn off and the host who had told him there was no food turned into a beautiful Lady. At that moment the cat, who Jack thought he had left at the cottage, appeared and the Lady turned her into a beautiful woman. This was the Empress of the Mountains of the Moon and had been sent to help Jack find the Bean. She handed a box to Jack which had a ring inside. The ring had five wishes as well as a magical stone that turned North which would help Jack conquer Dragons, Basilisks, and Giants; when the stone was turned South his wealth would overflow and he would get everything he desired. Jack instantly fell in love with the Empress of the Mountains of the Moon, married her, and became a Prince with a wish. After a night, they suddenly heard a voice from miles away saying:

‘Fee-Faw-Fum!

I smell the Blood of an English-Man;

Whether he be alive or dead,

I’ll grind his Bones to make my bread.’

Prince Jack was not troubled because he had the ring and enough safety. He and his new wife and many attendants started riding toward the Castle of Wonders and spied the Giant named Gogmagog who was using a tree trunk as a toothpick. Instead of attacking them, Gogmagog saw the beauty of the Empress and introduced the whole company into his castle with the richest rooms. The giant shrank down to be the size of a regular man, and they spent three days with him; but Gogmagog fell desperately in love with the Empress and decided she would be his wife even if it meant that he devoured Prince Jack. Jack overheard what the giant was planning and used his ring and wishes to free those locked in the castle as well as planning for the giant the next morning. When daybreak occurred, the Giant appeared with a sword in his hand to kill Jack. Jack used the ring and turned it North. As the sword came down upon him and it hit him as if he was a rock made of diamonds, he used a wish to turn the Empress into a Basilisk. The giant saw what had occurred, groaned, fell to his knees, trembled, and died of fright. There were shouts and cheers that went up through the castle and the Knights and Ladies congratulated Jack and proclaimed him Monarch of the Universe.