YMCI Writing Contest Winner: The Giant's Beanstalk

By Veronica Lal

Big thanks to the Creative Writing Club at York Mills Collegiate Institute for hosting this wonderful writing event, and thanks to Veronica Lal for your short story!

Once upon a time, there lived a poor widow and her young son, John. John was a curious and imaginative boy who loved his mother dearly. One day, as he was walking through the dark woods on his way home from school, John was approached by an odd man. He was an old man in appearance; but he did not seem to wear the age as others did. The man had grey hair that was matted around his face as if it were damp, though there was no rain. At the time John was struck with the impression that he was from a different world entirely. 

“You, boy, is your mother the spinner in the village?” the man asked curiously. 

John thought this an unusual question but he saw no reason not to respond. “Yes,” he replied. “Why do you ask?”

“I believe I might be able to help you and your mother out, child. But you must listen very carefully. If you do not follow my instructions down to the word, terrible things will come to you. This is your only warning. Do you understand?” 

John loved his mother dearly, and so he nodded eagerly, accepting the man’s offer without a second thought. 

“There is a very special hen that lives in the village. She looks just like all the other hens, but this hen lays very valuable eggs. Find her, and bring her to me. In return, I will give you gold coins. You must find her within three days.” The man instructed in his deep accented voice. 

“How do I know which hen is the special one?” John demanded. 

The man knelt down until his face was level with John’s. He whispered “There is a special spell. All you have to say are four magic, mysterious words, and the hen will come to you.”

“What are they?” John asked, awe clouding his voice. 

And in a voice so low that John could hardly hear him, the man whispered the words. 

*

That evening, John could hardly contain his excitement. His hands shook with anticipation and he could hardly concentrate on his chores. 

“John, what on earth has gotten into you today?” his mother said as she sat spinning. She was always at work, spinning all day, but there was little money in the job. But John was reluctant to tell his mother about the man, so he simply shrugged and went to bed. 

The next day after school, he headed into the village, muttering the magic words over and over so as to not forget them. John wandered through the village, whispering the words each time he saw anything that even resembled a hen. By the time it was dark, John had gotten strange looks from not only the entire village, but a goose, a chicken, and even a pigeon. But no magic hen. Heart heavy with dismay and disappointment, John slowly and regretfully trudged home. As if his day couldn’t have gotten worse, it began to rain, and by the time he got home, his already-too-small boots were puddled with water and mud. 

By the next afternoon, the rain had not let up; if anything it seemed to pour harder. John began his long walk home from school, not even bothering to whisper the magic words. But, as if the universe had taken pity on the poor boy, John began to hear a wonderful tune whisper through the woods. As soon as it reached his ears, his head lifted and the light seemed to return to his eyes, for John was a boy who thrived off adventure, and having one that had ended so unhappily seemed to be the cruelest fate for him. Foregoing the path entirely, John began to follow the lovely music until he came upon a shallow stream. Across from the stream, there sat the most beautiful thing John had ever seen. It was a golden and brilliant harp, a strange shape with glistening strings. And the most magical thing about the instrument, the thing that had John’s mouth wide open in shock, was that-somehow- it seemed to be playing itself. 

Quickly and thoughtlessly, John waded across the stream and picked up the harp. At his touch, the harp’s strings stilled as if it was waiting for something. 

“May I take you with me?” John asked the harp. “My mother and I are quite lonely, and we would greatly appreciate your beautiful music.” The harp trilled quietly, and John wondered if it was considering his offer. After a moment, the harp played a happy tune, and John took it as his signal to bring it home with him. A smile lit up his face, and the harp continued to play for him as he walked home. 

“You make such beautiful music.” John said. “I wonder where you have come from.”

In response, the harp played a peculiar tune, almost as if it wondered as well. Its music was like the chimes of a thousand bells, ringing clear and brightly through the rain.

When he arrived home, John presented the harp to his mother, and when she saw the magical instrument, her hands flew to her mouth in awe. 

“It must be a gift!” his mother said merrily. 

John nodded in agreement, and sat with his mother throughout the night, listening to the harp play its lovely tunes. 

Soon enough, John had fallen asleep to the peaceful music, but his dreams were anything but. He saw mysterious visions of a terrifying giant and a castle in the sky, and the magic words replayed in his head like an evil chant. He wondered about the visions, but even though he had been frightened, he only became more determined. That day was his last day to find the hen, and he was going to spend as much time as he could searching for it. 

On his walk to school that morning, John was fascinated by the visions he had seen. He imagined himself a fearsome warrior, slaying giants and living in castles in the sky. 

Later that afternoon, once school was over, John was making his rounds through the village once again, whispering his prized magic words. But this time, as John passed the town mayor’s house, he began to hear a quiet but persistent sound coming from behind the large house. John’s heart began to race as he said the magic words louder, and as he did the noise became louder along with it. He continued to circle the fence behind the house until he found the source of the sound. To his delight, it was a hen with golden eyes. “This must be the hen!” John thought, hardly able to contain his excitement. John quickly took the hen, but he was struck with the thought of his mother’s disappointment at hearing that he had stolen. And from the mayor, no less! So, remembering what the man had told him about the valuable eggs, he whispered to the hen: “Would you lay me an egg, please?” 

After not even a moment had passed, the hen laid an egg unlike one that John had ever seen before. He had expected that the value of the eggs was in their colour, or size, but this egg was pure gold. It was worth much more than a few gold coins! John left the egg in the mayor’s farm, hoping that the mayor wouldn’t be too angry. 

John decided that he was going to keep the hen- it could give him and his mother enough eggs to be rich forever! But he still had no idea what he was going to say to the man. Surely he would get angry if John did not fulfill his side of the deal. John looked out at the mayor’s farm, desperate for an idea. He watched the sheep out in the distance, sleeping after a long day of grazing. Cows, looking out to the horizon. Hens, just like the one he held in his arms.

And with that, he had an idea. Running as quickly as he could, John left the magical hen in his small room at home. Then, he returned to the farm to take another hen. John strode as quickly as he could carrying the nonmagical hen through the woods, until at last he reached the spot where he had found the man three days prior. The man was sitting on a log, awaiting him. When he saw John, he stood. 

“You have found her! Excellent.” the man said as John quickly put the hen in the man’s cart, hoping he wouldn’t notice. The man narrowed his eyes at John’s nervous demeanor, but nevertheless he dropped a few coins into John’s palm. It was much less than what even one of the hen’s golden eggs was worth, but John said nothing, and as soon as the money was in his hand, he ran off, relieved. 

But the odd man was intelligent and shrewd, and he knew that John had been hiding something from him. When he discovered that John had tricked him, he screamed in rage. And this was the moment where John’s fate was sealed forever; for the odd man was angry and powerful. He was furious that he had been tricked, and so he muttered a curse that would ruin John’s life forever. “You tricked me, you stole, and you lied. Now, you will know the consequences.” As soon as he had finished, a terrible wind screeched through the land, straight toward John’s home. At the sound of the wind, the hen clucked in fright and the harp played a fearful tune. Once the wind reached the house, John’s bones began to stretch and his hands began to grow. Anger overcame his brain, and his house began to float into the sky. He whispered the four words that had come to change his life forever: 

“Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum”