jackandthebeanstalk

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jack and the beanstalk THERE was once upon a time a poor widow1 who had an only son named Jack,2 and a cow named Milky-white.3 And all they had to live on was the milk the cow gave every morning, which they carried to the market and sold. But one morning Milky-white gave no milk4 and they didn’t know what to do. "What shall we do, what shall we do?" said the widow, wringing her hands. "Cheer up, mother, I’ll go and get work somewhere," said Jack. "We’ve tried that before, and nobody would take you," said his mother; "we must sell Milky-white and with the money, start shop, or something."5 "All right, mother," says Jack; "it’s market-day today, and I’ll soon sell Milky-white, and then we’ll see what we can do." So he took the cow’s halter in his hand, and off he started. He hadn’t gone far when he met a funny-looking old man, who said to him: "Good morning, Jack." "Good morning to you," said Jack, and wondered how he knew his name.6 "Well, Jack, and where are you off to?" said the man. "I’m going to market to sell our cow here." "Oh, you look the proper sort of chap to sell cows," said the man; "I wonder if you know how many beans make five."7 "Two in each hand and one in your mouth," says Jack, as sharp as a needle.8 "Right you are," said the man, "and here they are, the very beans themselves," he went on, pulling out of his pocket a number of strange-looking beans. "As you are so sharp," says he, "I don’t mind doing a swop with you — your cow for these beans."9 "Walker!" says Jack; "wouldn’t you like it?" "Ah! you don’t know what these beans are," said the man; "if you plant them overnight, by morning they grow right up to the sky." "Really?" says Jack; "you don’t say so." "Yes, that is so, and if it doesn’t turn out to be true you can have your cow back." "Right," says Jack, and hands him over Milky-white’s halter and pockets the beans. Back goes Jack home, and as he hadn’t gone very far it wasn’t dusk10 by the time he got to his door. "Back already, Jack?" said his mother; "I see you haven’t got Milky-white, so you’ve sold her. How much did you get for her?" "You’ll never guess, mother," says Jack. "No, you don’t say so. Good boy! Five pounds, ten, fifteen, no, it can’t be twenty." "I told you you couldn’t guess. What do you say to these beans; they’re magical, plant them overnight and —" "What!" says Jack’s mother, "have you been such a fool, such a dolt, such an idiot, as to give away my Milky-white, the best milker in the parish, and prime beef to boot, for a set of paltry beans? Take that! Take that! Take that!11 And as for your precious beans here they go out of the window.12 And now off with you to bed. Not a sup shall you drink, and not a bit shall you swallow this very night."13 So Jack went upstairs to his little room in the attic, and sad and sorry he was, to be sure, as much for his mother’s sake, as for the loss of his supper. At last he dropped off to sleep. When he woke up, the room looked so funny. The sun was shining into part of it, and yet all the rest was quite dark and shady. So Jack jumped up and dressed himself and went to the window. And what do you think he saw? Why, the beans his mother had thrown out of the window into the garden had sprung up into a big beanstalk14 which went up and up and up till it reached the sky.15 So the man spoke truth after all. The beanstalk grew up quite close past Jack’s window, so all he had to do was to open it and give a jump on to the beanstalk which ran up just like a big plaited ladder. So Jack climbed,16 and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed till at last he reached the sky. And when he got there he found a long broad road going as straight as a dart. So he walked along and he walked along and he walked along till he came to a great big tall house,17 and on the doorstep there was a great big tall woman.18 "Good morning, mum," says Jack, quite polite-like.19 "Could you be so kind as to give me some breakfast?" For he hadn’t had anything to eat, you know, the night before and was as hungry as a hunter. "It’s breakfast you want, is it?" says the great big tall woman, "it’s breakfast you’ll be if you don’t move off from here. My man is an ogre20 and there’s nothing he likes better than boys broiled on toast. You’d better be moving on or he’ll soon be coming." "Oh! please,  

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部分单词解释

can 来自二年级下学期	可以
don’t 来自二年级下学期	别
sun 来自六年级上学期	太阳
plant 来自二年级下学期	植物
jump 来自二年级下学期	跳
today 来自二年级下学期	今天
his 来自五年级上学期	他的
straight 来自五年级上学期	直的
want 来自二年级下学期	希望
them 来自五年级上学期	他们

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