Jack and the Beanstalk

## Stats

**Jack and the Beanstalk** is the first episode of the first season of *Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child*, and the series overall. It aired on March 12, 1995.

## Summary

Once upon a time In an African countryside, there was a boy named Jack, whose father died when he was just a baby, leaving nothing but a small shack and a patch of land for him and his mother to live on. Jack and his mother were poor, but no matter how hard his mother worked, it didn't change much for them. It even didn't help that while Jack tries to help his mother, he instead would rather snooze away and dream. His mother asks him to feed their chickens, making him get right up. But Jack puts a hat on their cow Bessie and tells it to dream that it is loyal, then getting scolded by his mother who sees the full bag of feed. She tells him that they must sell something at the market, which unfortunately, turns out to be Bessie. While disappointed, he assures his mother that he'll come back with the biggest gold she'll see.

While walking and talking to the cow, a magic man who spirals in out of nowhere meets the two. He mentions that he just so happens to need a cow, and decides to make a deal with Jack, offering him five beans that are magical in exchange. Jack decides to take his beans, after the man agrees to take good care of Bessie. Jack gets back home and his mother, happy that he got something, gets horrified when he shows her his beans. Matter of fact, she faints. She throws the beans out the window and the chickens chase one until it lands in a puddle, telling Jack that there is no such thing as magic, and now they going to be farther behind thanks to him. When Jack goes to sleep that night, a really giant beanstalk grows outside, which Jack won't notice until the next day when he wakes up. Jack climbs up the beanstalk unsure what could possibly be up there, and finds a literal giant castle. He creeps inside and sees a giant woman who calls Jack a crumb snatcher for scaring her. Jack apologizes and wants something to eat, to which the giant woman answers that her husband is a man-eating giant that eats everybody and thing. Jack is told that if he can't handle giants, which he can't, he should leave, but Jack really wants something to eat, and so she agrees, and gives him toast with jam.

However, the giant man himself stomps his way into the castle, who can smell the African boy's blood. The wife giant hides him in the oven and gives her husband some food. He can still smell Jack, but she tells him that it could just be the English man he had before. He then wants to count his gold while he eats, so his wife hands him his bags full of gold coins and he counts them on the table, eventually falling asleep. Jack escapes the oven and manages to take a bag of gold, almost getting hit by the giant's hand. Jack returns to his mother and she is happy that they have money, but the money only lasts a while and soon they are back to their poor state. Jack repays a visit to the giant castle and asks the female giant for more food but she refuses, although Jack mentions that she won't have to bother cooking him if he leaves before her husband comes back. She agrees once again, and makes him a sandwich, but the husband comes back on the hunt for Jack. He hides in the oven, and the giant misses him and smells liver and onion that his wife makes, which he complains about. He commands his wife to get him his magic hen, so she does, and he makes the hen lay a golden egg. When the giant falls asleep, Jack takes the hen and makes his getaway out the castle and down to the ground, with the giant chasing him until he leaves.

With a practically golden dispenser, Jack's mother is sure that they will be living a good life now, however, Jack still climbs up the beanstalk again even though his mother tells him it isn't necessary. In the castle he hides behind an oven leg, and tosses his bag inside the oven door which has a fake of him. The two giants search for the African boy, and the female giant knows just where he is. She lights the oven and Jack pretends that he is stuck inside, shouting from behind the leg and hitting it. The two giants laugh, and the male giant can't wait to eat. However, the oven starts to smoke and the decoy is burnt. The male giant gets his magic golden harp that plays a whimsical tune causing the giant to snore. Jack snatches the harp, but the giant nabs him in the act and locks him in the cabinet. When he and his wife marvel at the boy, Jack sprinkles pepper on their face and escapes. The man giant chases after him, attempting to stomp on him, and they both climb down the beanstalk. Jack gets down and he and his mother quickly chop it down, and the giant and the stalk falls, creating a big and questionable hole in the ground. Jack promises to never do any dangerous act again, but he only did it to help his mother. She tells him that all the riches in the world wouldn't mean a thing if she lost her son. Learning that need is more important than greed is important to know or else what you're chasing ends up chasing you. Overall, Jack & his mother lived happily ever after.

## Cast

Wayne Collins as Jack

Pauletta Washington as Jack's Mother

Harry Belafonte as the Magician (Ty Stevens as his Singing Voice)

Tone Loc as the Giant

Jackée Harry as the Giant's wife

## Songs

* More Than Luck
* Living Large
* More Than Luck (reprise)

## Trivia

* The farmer who was on the horse when the giant’s chicken bone fell from the Beanstalk in the “Living Large” song happens to be Jonae’s father from *Rumpelstiltskin.* However, that episode wasn’t released yet*.*