Jack was a young boy who lived with his mother in a small cottage. They were very poor. They had no money, very little food, and the only valuable thing they owned was a cow called Milky White. Every day, they sold the cow's milk at the market to buy bread.

But one morning, Milky White stopped giving milk. She was old and tired, and there was nothing left.

Jack's mother sat at the kitchen table and put her head in her hands. "We have no milk to sell, and we have no money to buy food. There is only one thing we can do — you must take the cow to market and sell her. Try to get a good price."

Jack walked to market with Milky White. On the road, he met a strange old man who was wearing a long coat and a funny hat.

"Good morning, young man!" said the old man. "That's a fine cow. Are you selling her?"

"Yes," said Jack. "Do you want to buy her?"

The old man reached into his pocket and pulled out five small beans. They were different colours — red, blue, green, purple, and gold — and they seemed to glow slightly in his hand.

"I will trade you these magic beans for your cow," said the man. "Plant them tonight, and by morning, they will grow all the way up to the sky."

Jack looked at the beans. They were beautiful. They were magical. He was excited.

"Deal!" said Jack. He gave the man the cow and took the beans.

When he got home, his mother asked, "How much did you get for the cow?"

Jack held out his hand and showed her the beans. "Magic beans!" he said proudly. "They grow up to the sky!"

His mother stared at the beans. Then she stared at Jack. Then she exploded.

"BEANS?! You traded our cow — our only cow — for BEANS?! You foolish, stupid boy!"

She grabbed the beans and threw them out of the window. Then she sent Jack to bed without dinner.

Jack lay in bed, hungry and ashamed. He was sure he had made a terrible mistake.

But when he woke up the next morning, his room was dark. Something was blocking the sunlight from his window. He looked outside and could not believe what he saw.

A massive beanstalk had grown overnight. It was as thick as a tree, with enormous green leaves. It went up and up and up — past the roof, past the clouds, all the way into the sky, until it disappeared into the white mist above.

Jack grinned. The beans were magic after all.

Without thinking twice, he began to climb.