Unhappily Ever After: Fairy Tales With a Twist

by Anchor Group Publishing

A light tapping started to echo throughout the house. The light sound became heavier as rain started to fall angrily from the sky. Jack sighed and pulled a bowl from under his bed. A hole had formed in the ceiling and was allowing rain to slowly drip onto the floor below. Once he was sure the bowl was lined up properly, Jack flopped back onto his bed and closed his eyes.

  Daylight had barely crept over the horizon when Jack awoke with a start. He strained to listen for any movement in the house. Cautiously, he crept down the hallway, noticing his mother was still in bed. His guilt returned as he watched her for a moment. Her face was riddled with worry lines even as she slept.

  “I’m so sorry, Mother,” he whispered before tiptoeing further down the hall. He had just entered the kitchen and immediately realized something was blocking the morning light that usually streamed in from the window.

  “No way,” he murmured as his eyes suddenly grew wide. Jack turned and quickly grabbed his worn out shoes before running outside. Looking around the corner of the house, Jack could see a huge beanstalk had grown overnight. He tilted his head upward and his jaw dropped as he realized it reached high into the clouds overhead.

  Curiosity quickly saturated every fiber of his being, so before logic and reason could kick in, Jack began to shimmy up the beanstalk. A small smirk gave way to a chuckle as he climbed higher and higher.

  “Whoa!” Jack exclaimed when he glanced down. His meager house was so small from his high view. A momentary wave of panic washed over him as he realized falling would undeniably be lethal from this particular height. With a nervous gulp, Jack continued his climb upward until he finally broke through the clouds.

  As Jack emerged through the clouds, like a rabbit peeking from its burrow, he was surprised at how solid looking the clouds had become. Cautiously, he reached out with a foot and tested the firmness before resting his full weight on it. Reassured he wouldn’t suddenly plummet to his death, Jack started walking along the clouds until he happened upon a large house.

  The windows were covered with dust as Jack crept close. Shoving his fist into his sleeve, he carefully wiped a small corner of the window clean. Peeking in, he saw a large kitchen with a roaring fire in the fireplace. Spying a door on the opposite side of the room, Jack tiptoed around the side of the house.

  The doorknob stood high over Jack’s head, but fortunately, it hung slightly open. With a hard push, Jack cracked the door open enough to wedge himself inside. He was immediately taken aback by the sheer size of everything in the kitchen. A table and chairs seemed larger than life as Jack carefully explored the room in wonder. As he tried to soak up his surroundings, Jack suddenly tripped and fell backward. Shaking the confusion, he glanced down at what caused his fall, his eyes suddenly growing wide as he realized it was a coin … a large, gold coin.

  Jack looked around suspiciously before taking a closer inspection of the coin. It was large, but not unreasonable to carry.

  Maybe this would help make things better with Mother, Jack thought silently to himself. He quickly picked up the coin, shoving it between his waistband and back. It was cool against his skin, but the excitement of the find spurned Jack to get back home. A quick glance around showed the coast was clear, so Jack raced back to the beanstalk, practically sliding down the entire way.

  “Mother! Mother!” he exclaimed, exploding through the door.

  “Jack?” his mother’s voice sang out. “Where have you been? I’ve been worried sick!”

  Jack burst into his Mother’s bedroom, and before she could chastise him further, held up the large coin.

  “What is that?” she asked in a stunned whisper.

  “It’s the answer to all our problems, Mother!” Jack answered excitedly. “And there is more where that came from!”

  “Jack, where did you find this?” she questioned with alarm.

  “You’d never believe me if I told you.” Jack grinned, grabbing his mother’s arm, practically dragging her to the kitchen. He pointed out the window toward the large beanstalk. “I climbed it to the top.”

  His mother just stared in stunned silence, her gaze darting between the large coin in her hand, Jack, and out the window. It took several minutes for her to regain her voice.

  “Jack, you said there was more?” she asked cautiously, her face a mix of emotions.

  “More coins like this for certain,” he exclaimed, his heart racing with excitement at the thought of finally being able to relieve his mother’s burden. “Mother, we’ll be rich … Think about I t… no more bartering, no more threadbare clothes, no more … this!” He smiled, pointing to their surroundings.

  “I don’t know. It seems too dangerous to allow you to climb that stalk again,” she answered, sitting down while still staring at the coin. “This would be enough to carry us through winter for certain.”

  “Mother, why should we have to hope this would just carry us for a few months? I could bring back so much more and we could live like royalty,” Jack pleaded.

  “I need to think about this,” she answered. “Go tend to your chores while I head to town to see what this will fetch us. Under no circumstances are you to climb that stalk again until I decide what we are going to do.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Jack acknowledged before heading outside toward the barn. He set about his daily responsibilities, feeling a sudden pang in his chest when he momentarily forgot Lucy was gone as he entered to muck her stall. He thought wistfully, Maybe my mother will be able to buy Lucy back.

  “I’ll be back soon,” Jack heard his mother’s voice ring out. He glanced up and saw his mother walking down the dirt road toward town, a bag tightly slung across her body, no doubt carrying the coin he brought home earlier.

  Jack watched her silently as she walked down the road, his mind racing with thoughts of other treasures waiting to be discovered in the giant house. His focus flickered from the empty road to the beanstalk.

  “Surely she’ll be gone for hours,” Jack said to himself. “I could shimmy back up and be back before she returned.”

  Before he could change his mind, Jack dropped the mucking pitchfork and ran into the house. He quickly turned his room into shambles as he searched for his bag before taking off toward the beanstalk. Fear of his mother returning early only fueled his feverish climb to the top. A smile crossed his lips as he broke through the clouds and saw the familiar house. Jack crept along the side of the house and peered inside. His heart jumped into his throat when he saw a giant woman tinkering around the kitchen.

  Swallowing his fear, Jack carefully found his way back to the door and quietly snuck inside. The aroma of food hit him as he tiptoed inside, his empty stomach betraying him as it loudly growled. His eyes glanced up in terror at the woman, fearing she had heard him. A sigh rushed out from the breath he didn’t know he was holding as he realized she hadn’t heard him. Figuring the coast was relatively clear, Jack continued to explore the house.

  A left turn from the kitchen revealed a bedroom. Jack stayed close to the walls as he entered the room. He looked in wonder at the enormous size of the room’s contents. A small glint caught his eye as he glanced around. Confirming he was still alone, Jack quickly darted across the room toward the bed. Safely enveloped by the darkness, he began searching for the sparkle that caught his attention.

  There was a shiny pile on the far side of the bed. Jack approached it with intense curiosity. As he drew closer, he could discern several more coins similar to the one he had brought home just the day before. Stepping out from the protective cover of the bed, Jack slowly circled the pile. He noticed an odd golden shape as he reached the far side. Reaching down, he wrapped his fingers around it and pulled. Jack fell backward as a harp suddenly catapulted toward him.

  He studied it intensely. It wasn’t huge, less than the length of his arm, but even the twelve strings had a golden luster. Jack realized this was truly unique and would undoubtedly help his mother financially. He quickly stuffed it in his bag before grabbing another coin for good measure. Not wan
ting to press his luck any further, Jack quickly made his way out of the bedroom, again staying close to the wall baseboards.

  “What’s that I smell?” a male voice questioned.

  “What smell?” came a female reply. “I only smell the mutton stewing in this pot.”

  Jack peeked up and saw there was a second giant in the kitchen, sitting at the table between Jack and freedom. He pressed himself as close to the wall as he could and carefully tiptoed toward the door. His heart started pounding when the giant suddenly stood up and began moving around the kitchen. Fearing he was about to be detected, Jack broke into a full sprint for the door.

  Jack quickly escaped the house and was sliding down the beanstalk with a smirk the entire time. He couldn’t wait to see his mother’s reaction to the new items he found. Jack jumped the last few feet and landed on the ground, still smiling. He ran to the door and burst in, looking for his mother.

  “Mother? Are you here?” he called out. “I have something to show you!”

  Jack was only met with silence. He ran quickly through the house and discovered his mother had not returned from town. Walking back into the kitchen, he carefully removed the contents of his bag onto the table. His fingers ran gently along the body of the harp, absorbing the intricate details.

  “What did you do?” Jack’s mother’s voice suddenly cut through his thoughts.

  Dropping the harp, Jack suddenly jumped up and turned around. He saw his mother standing in the doorway, a furious expression marring her face. He tried to block her view of the harp and coin he had taken.

  “What did you do?” she demanded again, pushing her way around Jack and grabbing the coin off the table. “Where are you getting these from? Where did you find this harp? Did you go back up that blasted beanstalk again against my wishes?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Jack answered with his head hung low. He had imagined his mother’s reaction so many ways except this one. Where he had pictured pure elation, he was now only receiving anger. He looked up and saw his mother looking right back at him.

  “Jack,” she said softly, placing her hand against his cheek. “You’re young, you’re excited, but you’ve got to remember to think every once in a while. What if you had fallen? What if something happened to you up there?”

  “I’m sorry, Mother,” Jack replied as he fiercely hugged his mother.

  “I worry, son. You’re all I have left in this world,” his mother answered as she hugged him back. “If anything happened to you …”

  “Nothing will happen, I promise,” Jack said as he pulled out of his mother’s arms.

  She studied him for a moment before a smile broke out. “All right, since we have that settled, why don’t you help me with dinner then.”

  Jack only smirked and set about helping his mother with dinner. She took her bag and began unloading the contents. Jack’s eyes grew wide as he saw fresh loaves of bread and cheese among the wrapped packages of other cooking items.

  “That large coin bought us quite a bit,” his mother stated. “I still have some left over, so we’ll be fine this winter. And before you ask, yes, you may have a little cheese and bread before dinner.”

  “Thank you!” Jack exclaimed, quickly tearing off a piece of bread. He stuffed part of it in his mouth as he set the table. In between bites, he declared, “This is really good.”

  As they continued to prepare dinner, light banter filled the air. Jack was starting to realize how much he had missed light-hearted conversations like this with his mother.

  “Why don’t we just talk anymore?” Jack asked as they settled down to eat.

  “We do talk,” she answered with a puzzled look as she speared a piece of meat.

  “No, not like just now,” Jack replied. “While making dinner, we were talking about nonsense. I sort of miss that.”

  “Well,” she paused, “I suppose we are both trying so hard to keep this house and farm together. We are either starting our day or ending our day as we sit at this table. But, seeing as how our fortunes seemed to have changed, I think things might end up a little different around here.”

  “I would like that.” Jack smiled.

  “Me too,” she answered. “Okay, finish up, we have another big day tomorrow and we both need to get more rest.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Jack replied. He finished his plate, and without being asked, started washing the dishes. His mind pondered over everything that had happened over the last day. While initially his mother had been upset about the beans he had received for Lucy, they had brought better fortune to his family. For the first time Jack could remember, he wasn’t going to bed still hungry, and it was a strange feeling for him.

  His mother bid him a good night as he continued to absently dry dishes. Life was definitely changing for him since he had found the coin. They had a full dinner and enough food in the pantry to last. Tomorrow morning, his mother would assuredly be taking the other coin and the harp to market as well. Jack glanced toward his mother’s door and decided everything was worth the risk.

  “Good night, Mother,” Jack said softly as he passed her door to his room. He strained to hear for his mother’s even breathing, and once he was sure she was asleep, he quickly grabbed his jacket and headed back toward the kitchen. Once his bag was secured, Jack crept out the door and began to climb the beanstalk one last time. He had decided to make his mother’s trip to town worth the walk. One last haul would set them for life.

  Jack quickly climbed the beanstalk one last time, ideas of his future firmly in his mind’s eye. He made his way into the giant’s house again. As he looked around the kitchen, he could hear snoring blaring from the bedroom. He made his way out of the kitchen and turned right, heading toward another room in the house.

  In what he could assume was a living room, Jack began to explore the room, carefully listening for the continual snore that seemed to reverberate through the entire house. He noticed everything; books larger than him, a basket with yarn and knitting needles, even a pencil which had fallen on the floor. It was amazing and frightening at the same time. Jack continued to move around the room until he found a large box.

  He carefully lifted the lid and almost fell over in shock. The box contained yet more coins than Jack had ever seen, but that wasn’t what had caught his attention. In a small, gilded cage was a goose. It ruffled its feathers in Jack’s presence, momentarily lifting itself to allow Jack to catch a glimpse underneath.

  “No way,” he murmured, his eyes wide and focused like lasers on the eggs the goose was sitting on. The eggs were not just normal eggs, but golden. His mind raced with possibilities. His mother would literally be set for life if he could safely bring the goose back home. He jumped into the box and quickly made his way over to the cage. He soothingly coaxed the goose out of her cage and gently placed her in his bag before stuffing all the eggs in with her.

  Jack quickly made his way back toward the kitchen to leave the house yet again. He was almost to the door when suddenly a broom came down in front of him. He had completely forgotten about the giant in his excitement.

  “Fe, fi, fo, fum, I smell the blood of man,” the giant’s voice declared as he swished the broom toward Jack. “I will feast on your bones!”

  Jack quickly dodged and narrowly avoided being hit by the broom. His pulse was racing as adrenaline hit his system. The giant continued to chase Jack all over the kitchen, taking swipes with the broom. Realizing he was running out of time, Jack decided to make a break for the door. Using whatever energy he had left, he raced for freedom. He quickly slipped through and dashed for the beanstalk.

  Jack could see dawn was approaching as he slid down the stalk, feeling triumphant he had escaped safely. But the hopes of a completely clean getaway were quickly destroyed as Jack looked up when he was halfway down. High above him was the giant. Panic and fear immediately filled him. The giant was gaining speed as they both came crashing down toward Jack’s house. Jack leapt from the stalk and ran for the barn. He set the bag down
on a bale of hay and immediately grabbed his axe before racing back toward the stalk.

  Jack swung the axe with all his might, chopping piece after piece from the beanstalk. He dared a glance up as he kept chopping, noticing how fast the giant was approaching. He continued to hack away until a large creaking sound proceeded the collapse of the beanstalk. Jack ran as the stalk and giant came crashing to the ground below. The ground shook slightly as the giant landed with a loud thump, knocking Jack to the ground.

  “Jack!” his mother exclaimed, racing out of the house. “Where are you?”

  “Over here,” Jack answered, climbing out from under a large leaf that had landed on him. He slowly got up and checked himself for any injuries only to be immediately checked again by his mother.

  “What did you do?” she demanded, nearly shaking him as her head kept turning between Jack and the fallen stalk.

  “I had to take it down, Mother,” Jack mumbled as his mother started to drag him toward the fallen stalk.

  The sun was almost completely over the horizon and revealed the scene to his mother whose only response was a gasp. The stalk was down, but so was the giant who had given chase. Jack approached the body and could immediately tell he was dead by the heavy blood smell clinging in the air.

  “Mother, I … uh,” Jack started to explain, but just faltered on his words as he saw his mother was a statue, visibly in shock.

  Her still nature was suddenly broken by the sound of multiple horses coming up the road. Her eyes were wide as the town sheriff and several deputies rode up.

  “Ma’am,” the sheriff acknowledged with a nod of his head. The other men immediately dismounted their horses and dispersed around the farm, several heading into the barn, some toward the stalk and fallen giant, while others entered the house. All the while, the sheriff kept a piercing stare on Jack and his mother.

  Jack’s heart sank as the men began reemerging with bags. They set them on the ground near the sheriff. Jack felt his mother’s grasp around his arm, but never broke his gaze from the sheriff. The sheriff dismounted his horse and walked over to Jack. He stared Jack hard in the face for a moment before prying his mother’s hands from his arm.