Elijah and João loved being neighbors! Their houses were close together in Fort Worth. João's house had a huge yard with lots of grass! Many years ago, cows and chickens lived there! But now, João only lived with his mom and one cow, Branca! Sometimes, Branca’s milk was all they had to eat for the whole day! But Elijah and João were good friends, and Elijah always brought snacks so they could play in the grass. João’s mom was always happy to see them. João loved to play tag, and Elijah loved to talk about space! That day, they were playing pretend space travel. Elijah was the captain of a spaceship!
One day, João’s mom asked him to sell Branca. They needed more than just milk! So João called Elijah, and they both laughed as they walked to the market. When they got to a corner, they saw a kind old man. The old man saw João and Elijah, and he smiled.
“Hello, young men!” the old man said. “I see you have a lovely cow.”
“Yes, we do,” said João. “But my mom wants to sell her.”
“I have something wonderful to trade you,” the old man said. “Magic beans! These beans will bring you more food than milk ever could!”
“Magic beans?” Elijah asked. “How do they work?”
“They grow,” said the old man. “If you plant them, they grow into something very special!”
João and Elijah looked at each other. They had never seen magic beans before!
“Okay,” said João. “Let’s try them!”
They traded Branca for the magic beans. Then, they ran home to tell João’s mom!
But when they got to João’s house, João’s mom started to cry! “Oh, my boys!” she said. “You’ve been tricked! That old man is a liar! He just wanted Branca for himself! You have nothing to eat now!”
João’s mom told Elijah to go home. She told João to go to bed. João was sad. He didn’t know what they would eat the next day! He was so angry! He threw the beans out the window and went to sleep.
The next day, João’s mom woke up to a huge surprise! A beanstalk, taller than any tree, grew straight up into the clouds! João’s mom was surprised, but she wasn't worried! She told João to meet Elijah to play.
“Look!” cried João. “The magic beans worked! Let’s climb up!”
João and Elijah were very curious. They had to climb the beanstalk! It was very tall! They climbed and climbed! It seemed like they climbed forever!
Finally, they reached the clouds and saw a giant castle! A giant woman was at the gate! She was very tall!
“Hello, little ones!” she said. “Welcome to my home!”
“Thank you,” said João.
“But you must leave!” she said. “My husband is a giant, and he eats children!”
The ground started to shake! João and Elijah were scared! They ran to hide in a small room! They found some gold coins on the ground, and João quickly put them in his pocket!
“We need to get out of here!” said João.
“Quick, let’s go!” shouted Elijah.
João and Elijah ran to the beanstalk and climbed down as fast as they could!
“Wow!” said Elijah. “That was scary! But you know what?” he said. “I think our space station is much safer than that castle!”
“You’re right,” said João. “I don’t want to climb up there again! We will be fine. We can live simply. And we can use these gold coins.”
For a long time, João and his mom lived simply, but they lived comfortably with the gold coins. João’s mom gave Elijah delicious pieces of cake to take home.
“My family will love this!” said Elijah. “Thank you!”
But soon, the gold coins were all gone. João and Elijah knew what they had to do. They had to climb the beanstalk again!
“I’m scared,” said João. “But we need to get more coins!”
This time, they were smarter! They climbed the beanstalk and hid in the giant’s kitchen. They watched the giant! The giant was taking care of a fat hen.
“Look!” said João. “She’s laying golden eggs!”
João and Elijah waited until the giant fell asleep! Then, they carefully captured the hen. The hen didn’t make a sound! They climbed down the beanstalk with the hen. It was very hard! But they did it!
“We did it!” said Elijah. “We have a hen that lays golden eggs! Now we’ll always have something to eat!”
João’s mom was very happy! “We are so lucky!” she said!
But João saw a golden harp in the castle. He wanted it!
“I’m going back!” João told Elijah. “This time, I’ll go alone. I know where the harp is!”
The next day, João climbed the beanstalk again. He wanted to be quick, but the giant was waiting for him at the door!
“Oh, no!” said João. “You scared me!”
The giant ran after João! João ran as fast as he could! Finally, he escaped and climbed down the beanstalk.
João ran to Elijah’s house and told him what happened.
“We have to do something!” said Elijah. “We have to stop the giant!”
They decided to cut down the beanstalk. That way, the giant would never come down again! João’s mom was already happy with the golden eggs!
João and Elijah worked hard to cut down the beanstalk. Elijah, even though he was only 7, helped João! It was very hard work! But finally, the beanstalk fell! The giant would never come down!
“I think that’s enough excitement for one day,” said Elijah. “We don’t need more than the essentials! That giant is dangerous!”
João’s mom was so happy the beanstalk was gone! She invited João and Elijah to stay for a snack.
“Come on, boys!” she said. “It’s time for a treat!”
And that afternoon, the table at João’s house was full: of bread, cake, love, and laughter! The essentials!
