The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1900-07-01
Bill Arp's Letter.
Arp Talks of His Garden and of Jack and the
BeanStalk.

ed down the chimney, for he was as
high as a tree, but he couldn't lind
Jack. When he went away and was
out of sight, Jacks mother took up
the plank, and reaching her hand
down, she pulled Jack out of the cell
ilar. Soon after this poor old woman
came along and begged for something
to eat, and Jack and his mother fixed
her up good dinner and some coffee,
and the poor woman was so thankful
that she gave Jack bean and told
him to plant it and it would grow as
high as the sky and have bushels and
bush els of beans, and the vine would
grow as high as a tree in one night.
So Jack planted it right away, and
next morning he went out to see it,
and the top of it was away up yonder
and he could see it growing higher
and higher So he thought it would
be fun to climb it, and the stems of the
leaves were strong enough to hold
him up like a ladder, and he kept on
climbing and the bean vine kept on
growing so fast that Jack couldn't
CATCH up with it, and by and by he
got $40 high he couldn't see the
ground and be fore long he got up to
the clouds and stepped off on the blue
floor of the sky, and looking around at
the beautiful country he saw a great
fine house that was built of stone.
So he walked over to it and didn't see
anyDody-not Il. soul-nor a dog nor
a cat nor horse nor COW, but he heard
a great snoring inside and saw bones
all around the yard. Then he seeped
in and saw that that same old giant
asleep on the floor of the wide hall.
His tongue was hanging out of his
mouth and his face was greasy and
bloody, for he had been eating some
body and lain down to sleep, and his
snoring shook the house. Jack was
awfully scared, and started to run,
but he saw an axe near the door, and
he wondered if he couldn't kill that
old giant while he was asleep. So he
slipped in on tiptoe and raising up
the axe as high as he could, he brought
it down on the old giants neck, and
with one blow cut his head off. The
blood spouted all over the room and
Jack ran away as hard as he could.
Bye and bye he slipped back to see,
and sure enough the old giant was
dead and had stopped kicking and the
blood had stopped running. Jack
caught his big head by its long hair
and dragged it away off to the bean
vine and took it down to his mother,
| and the folks came to see it from all
over the country, and were so proud
of little Jack that they gave him
clothes and pocket knives and marbles
and balls, and ever afterwards called
| him Jack the Giant Killer. And there
has never been another giant in the
world since, for he was the last one.
Many a time have | got the children
to sleep on that story, for of course
/ vary it and eInbellish il and tell
many things to point "A moral and
adorn the tale. | have not forgotten
| how eagerly | listened to the little
stories my mother used to tell me
when L went to bed, and how ! de
voured the Arabian Nights when |
| grew older. Stories that reward the
good and bring grief to the bad chill
dren are great helps to raising them.
they are kindergartens to the ear and
a comfort to their little minds. / had
rather please them with a little story
like this than to fret myself abusing
Mark Hanna and his crowd, for little
children are nearer heaven than Mark
| is. according to my opinion.