Beanstalks and Bedtime

Right now, Julian likes having Jack and the Beanstalk read to him over and over. We have a few different versions. The one in the photo comes with little cardboard figures that you can use to "create your own story"--we usually just look at them and say "oh, there is the giant, what does the giant say?" At which point Julian says, "Fe Fi Fo Fum" before descending into a fit of giggles. It is pretty simple (Mom tells Jack to sell cow, Jack sells cow to old man for magic beans, Mom throws beans out window, Jack climbs up beanstalk that has grown overnight, Golden Goose begs Jack to rescue it, Jack goes down beanstalk and chops it down, Happily ever After).

The other copy of the tale which we have is a bit more complex. The Goose never asks to be rescued, the Giant seems far more terrifying and ominous, and there is a Singing Harp which calls out and alerts the Giant of Jack's thievery. In this version, Jack is chased and the beanstalk breaks as the Giant is climbing down (so instead of being trapped in his castle in the clouds, he falls to the ground and is swallowed up by the earth). Then Jack's mother says "oh, this is your father's Harp and Goose which an evil giant stole from us long ago", Thereby making it okay that Jack took these items which were not his (because they were supposed to be his and would have been his if the Giant hadn't stolen them first) and alright that his actions caused the untimely death of the Giant (because he was an evil, thief anyway).

As you can probably tell, I am not a huge fan of either tale. Really, I prefer tales that don't involve trickery ("magic beans for your cow"), thievery (the Goose, the Harp), or death (the Giant). So every day I try to read Julian Miss Spider's New Car or The Color Kittens, but he isn't interested. Of course, that is this week, next week, it will be something else.