Jack and the Beanstalk

Our absolute favorite book right now is called The Book of Virtues, A Treasury of Great Moral Stories by William J. Bennett. It is not the illustrated version, but the big 818 page black and white type wonderful version. The boys and I read from it everyday and they beg for the stories wrapped up in the chapters on topics such as compassion, courage, and honesty. I have to quote an excerpt from the introduction...

Today, we speak about values and how it is important to "have them," as if they were beads on a string or marbles in a pouch. But these stories speak to morality and virtues not as something to be possessed, but as the central part of human nature, not as something to have but as something to be, the most important thing to be.

So, what does this have to do with Jack and the Beanstalk? Well, let me tell you how I remember the story. Now, I know there are a lot of versions of it out there, but this is what I remember in a nutshell.

1. Jack disobeys his mother
2. Mother gets mad, throws beans out the window
3. Jack goes up the stalk that grows into the sky from the beans
4. Jack meets the giant and steals all his treasures
5. Giant follows him down and is killed when the stalk is cut by Jack
6. Jack and his mom are now rich

So, imagine my surprise when in my beloved new book (thrift store find, by the way) I find Jack and the Beanstalk in the section on courage and right after David and Goliath. What??? Did I miss something? (Sometimes the book does use stories to show what not to do, but I wasn't seeing that here either) Actually, it is all in the story. This version adapted from Andrew Lang gave me a whole new viewpoint and a story I am glad to share with my boys. It starts in the notes that says, "He begins his adventure as a thoughtless boy, but redeems himself through a bravery that rises from a sense of duty to his mother. Courage that leads upward..." Now, that sounds better. What else?

Well, in this story after showing his mother the beans Jack feels terrible and says, "At least, I may as well sow the beans." Yes, Jack you should do that work and reap some benefit out of your mistake!
When he reaches the sky and finds the beautiful community he is confronted by a lady that tells him a legend of a young boy who will come from the valley and challenge the giant and win the treasure for his poor mother. She asks him, "have you the courage to undertake it?" Jack replies, "I fear nothing when I am doing right." Are you seeing the difference???

After Jack's adventure and he is safe down the stalk this story says...Jack's mother was glad to have such treasures, but she was even more grateful to have her son back safe and sound and proud of him for his courage. She tells him, "Now I know you are destined to climb the ladder of fortune, just as you climbed the beanstalk."

This is my favorite part, the ending.

So together they buried the wicked giant and then went inside to count their blessings.

Now that's better. Happy Reading.