|Then he looked about him. It was all new. He had never seen such a
place before. There was not a tree or plant; there was no house or shed.
Some stones lay here and there, and there were little piles of earth. He
could not see a living person.
Jack sat down on one of the stones. He wished he were at home again. He
thought of his mother. He was hungry, and he did not know where to get
anything to eat. He walked and walked, and hoped he might see a house.
He saw no house, but at last he saw a lady walking alone. He ran toward
her, and when he came near, he pulled off his cap and made a bow. She
was a beautiful lady, and she carried in her hand a stick. A peacock of
fine gold sat on top of the stick.
The lady smiled and asked Jack how he came there. He told her all about
the bean-stalk. Then she said:--
“Do you remember your father?”
“No,” said Jack. “I do not know what became of him. When I speak of him
to my mother, she cries, but she tells me nothing.”
“She dare not,” said the lady, “but I will tell you. I am a fairy. I was
set to take care of your father, but one day I was careless. So I lost
my power for a few years, and just when your father needed me most I
could not help him, and he died.”
Jack saw that she was very sorry as she told this story, but he begged
her to go on.
“I will,” she said, “and you may now help your mother. But you must do
just as I tell you.”
Jack promised.
“Your father was a good, kind man. He had a good wife, he had money,
and he had friends. But he had one false friend. This was a Giant. Your
father had once helped this Giant, but the Giant was cruel. He killed
your father and took all his money. And he told your mother she must
never tell you about your father. If she did, then the Giant would kill
her and kill you too.
“You were a little child then, and your mother carried you away in her
arms. I could not help her at the time, but my power came back to me
yesterday. So I made you go off with the cow, and I made you take the
beans, and I made you climb the bean-stalk.
“This is the land where the Giant lives. You must find him and rid the
world of him. All that he has is yours, for he took it from your father.
Now go. You must keep on this road till you see a great house. The Giant
lives there. I cannot tell you what you must do next, but I will help
you when the time comes. But you must not tell your mother anything.”
The fairy disappeared and Jack set out. He walked all day, and when the
sun set, he came to the Giant’s house. He went up to it and saw a plain
woman by the door. This was the Giant’s wife. Jack spoke to her and
asked her if she would give him something to eat and a place where he
could sleep.
“What!” she said. “Do you not know? My husband is a Giant. He is away
now, but he will be back soon. Sometimes he walks fifty miles in a day
to see if he can find a man or a boy. He eats people. He will eat you if
he finds you here.”
Jack was in great fear, but he would not give up. He asked the Giant’s
wife to hide him somewhere in the house. She was a kind woman, so she
led him in. They went through a great hall, and then through some large
rooms. They came to a dark passage, and went through it. There was a
little light, and Jack could see bars of iron at the side. Behind the
bars were wretched people. They were the prisoners of the Giant.
Poor Jack thought of his mother and wished himself at home again. He
began to think the Giant’s wife was as bad as the Giant, and had brought
him in to shut him up here. Then he thought of his father and marched
boldly on.
They came to a room where a table was set. Jack sat down and began to
eat. He was very hungry and soon forgot his fears. But while he was
eating, there came a loud knock at the outside door. It was so loud that
the whole house shook. The Giant’s wife turned pale.
“What shall I do?” she cried. “It is the Giant. He will kill you and
kill me too! What shall I do?”
“Hide me in the oven,” said Jack. There was no fire under it, and Jack
lay in the oven and looked out. The Giant came in and scolded his wife,
and then he sat down and ate and drank for a long time. Jack thought
he never would finish. At last the Giant leaned back in his chair and
called out in a loud voice:--
“Bring me my hen!”
His wife brought a beautiful hen and placed it on the table.
“Lay!” roared the Giant, and the hen laid an egg of solid gold.
“Lay another!” And the hen laid another. So it went on. Each time the
hen laid a larger egg than before. The Giant played with the hen for
some time. Then he sent his wife to bed, but he sat in his chair. Soon
he fell asleep, and then Jack crept out of the oven and seized the hen.
He ran out of the house and down the road. He kept on till he came to
the bean-stalk, and climbed down to his old home.