Moral: Take advantage of the opportunities that life provides
Jack and the Beanstalk was an English fairytale. It first appeared in print as “The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean” in 1734. According to historians, it is based on the folktale The Boy Who Stole Ogre’s Treasure.
The Story of Jack and the Beanstalk
Jack is a poor young boy living with his mother. Their only source of income was their dairy cow. When the cow stopped giving milk, Jack’s mother tells him to take it to the market to sell. On the way, Jack meets an old man who offers magic beans in exchange for the cow, and Jack accepts the trade.
When Jack returns home, his mother is very angry because they have lost their only cow for a few beans. She throws the beans out the window. The beans began to grow straight up into the sky, so Jack climbs the beanstalk hoping to find good luck at the top.
Jack finds an enormous castle at the top owned by a giant. When the giant falls asleep, he steals a bag of gold coins and escapes down the beanstalk. When they have spent the gold coins, Jack climbs the beanstalk twice more, he second time he steals a goose that lays golden eggs. The third time, Jack steals a harp that plays by itself. But this time, the giant wakes up as Jack is making his escape and follows him down the beanstalk. Jack shouts asking his mother to bring the axe and cuts the beanstalk, causing the giant to fall to his death. Then Jack and his mother live happily ever after.
Take advantage of the opportunities that life provides
What is the Moral of Jack and the Beanstalk
The moral of this story would be taking advantage of the opportunities that life provides you. Jack is taking a huge risk when he exchanges the cow for the beans. The cow was their only income, and the money he would get from selling the cow would have fed them for days to come; yet he takes a chance, believing the power of the magic beans.
Jack’s decision to climb the beanstalk is another example of taking the opportunities the life provides you. When he starts climbing, he doesn’t know where that path will lead him or if that path will lead somewhere at all. He knows that he may face danger, but he has no idea what that danger might be. Despite all these, he climbs the beanstalk to find his luck. In the end, Jack is rewarded for his bravery proving the old saying that fortune favors the bold.
Image Courtesy:
“Jack and the beanstalk” by Special Collections Toronto Public Library (CC BY-SA 2.0) via Flickr
