| The family stayed outside a little while longer, picking vegetables from the garden. In a little while, Jack and his mother went inside to cook the food they needed for supper, leaving Sarah outside. She wanted to stay and watch the plants grow for a little while longer. Presently, she decided that the bean plants looked a little tired and thirsty.
“Would you like some water?” she whispered to the plants, half expecting an answer.The wind blew just then, making the leaves seem to nod yes. She took that as an answer, and ran to fetch more water from the well. In a few moments, she was back with a fresh bucketful of water, ready to “help the poor plants.” She doled out a ladle-ful at a time, then went back for another bucketful of water. She was getting ready to feed the plants more water when Jack and Mother called her for supper.” Coming!” she cried, dropping the full bucket right next to one of the bean plants. It was nearly dark by this time, so nobody saw what came next. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * |
Jack’s family lived right by a mountain. The garden was even closer to the mountain than the house, and the beans were planted closest to the mountain of all the plants. As the family ate, washed dishes, and settled into bed for the night, nobody suspected that the bean plants were quickly climbing the mountain, up to the top.
A family of giants lived at the top, with a young giant just learning to walk, run, and climb about. By morning, the bean plants had reached the mountain’s peaks and continued on to the sky. The young giant carefully snuck out of his house to play outside. His parents didn’t like him playing outside all the time because they worried that he would trip and fall off the cliff while they weren’t looking. When he looked around, he saw a terrific climbing rope right by the side of the mountain. He remembered his parents’ warnings to stay away from the mountain’s edge. He thought, and decided to be very careful. He walked slowly up to the rope, grabbed it, and looked down.
|