Jack and the Beanstalk

An ogre, just trying to life his life. With cattle on his belt.

Of course, not all fairy tales are princess tales. This week, I thought we'd take a look at Jack and the Beanstalk, found here. I managed to find a version of this story by Perrault, but he made Jack out to be much too nice of a character. Part of what I find interesting about this story is that the protagonist is rewarded for being a thief and a jerk.

Firstly, Jack is an idiot. He trades five beans for a cow. Of course the man who gives him the beans goes into detail about how the beans sprout up into the sky overnight, and then he adds that if Jack isn't completely satisfied with his product, he can have his cow back the next day. You know, if he can find this guy. It's like Jack has never been scammed before. Then, surprisingly, the beans actually grow into a beanstalk. I suppose if the beans are going to turn out to be magic, it can only be in a fairy tale.

Once Jack gets up the beanstalk, we see how rude is. After begging breakfast from the first person he sees, he hides in her oven and hears her husband talk about how he eats little boys, but the wife conceals Jack from her murderous husband. This woman feeds him and keeps him safe. How does Jack repay her? He steal a sack of gold from her. Yes, stealing it out from under her husband is just like stealing it from her. After he gets bored with the gold, Jack steals from her two more times, taking the gold-egg laying hen, and the magic harp, which are possibly the two most awesome things in their house.

We all know how it ends. Jack gets caught stealing the harp, but he manages to get away and kill the ogre, so he can live happily, and richly, ever after. And marry a princess as an add on.

I suppose the lesson to learn from this tale is that if you're going to be a thief and a jerk, then you'd better be fast. At least it's better than having to rely on being pretty.