Jack and the Beanstalk

Hello story fans!

Sorry it's been a while. I had to go and visit my mum in England, and she is doing great.

My mum would read and tell my brother and me stories all the time when we were kids. Before our dad left he would also tell stories, and when he was visiting us when our son was little and my dad was reading to my son, I realized where I get my voices from!

I grew up hearing Jack and the Beanstalk told by parents, grandparents and other relatives, read at school, and saw it presented in plays just like as one does with The Pied Piper. These seemed, in England, when I was growing up, to be the go-to stories. There were others, but these were the heavy cream and they kept coming to the top!

The story never really sat with that well, as Jack would climb the beanstalk, steal everything from the giant who would then fall from said beanstalk to meet a grizzly end. It seemed that Jack was not a terribly nice person - giant or not! Then, when I was all grown up, or close to it, I found another version from close to when this tale was first recorded, but it didn't involve a nasty Jack, but a Jack who was reclaiming his family fortune. I have sometimes told this story, but recently, at the beginning of this year (2024), I began playing around with it some more. It's not a short story, hence the slightly longer episode today, but I hope you like it.

Are you a tree climber, or someone who likes scrambling over rocks and boulders? Me too!

I hope you enjoy this episode of Lindyline, a story podcast.

Peace,

Simon