Amelia and João loved being neighbors! They lived in nearby houses in Jacksonville. The only difference was that João had a huge yard, all grassy, where many cows and chickens used to live. Nowadays, João lived with his mother and a single cow in the yard, named Branca, and sometimes her milk was all they had to eat in a day. But whenever Amelia could, they brought some snacks to ensure endless playtime on the grass, and João’s mother was always grateful. João loved playing tag, and Amelia enjoyed their interest in flowers. That day, they were playing with Amelia's interest in flowers. Amelia had a big, bright smile on her face! João loved watching Amelia's green eyes sparkle as she pretended her fingers were magical and made the flowers grow bigger and bigger.
One day, João’s mother asked him to sell Branca because they needed more than just milk. So João called Amelia, and with laughter, they headed to the market. But when they passed by a corner, they met a kind old man who quickly came to talk to João and Amelia.
“Hello, my little friends!” the old man said. “I see you have a cow. Would you like some magic beans in exchange for her?”
João and Amelia quickly thought, beans provide more food than milk! So they accepted the offer!
“Oh, João, just think!” said Amelia. “With magic beans, we can grow enough food to feed everyone in Jacksonville!”
When they returned to João’s house, João’s mother started crying when she heard the news! The old man had tricked João and Amelia! João’s mother knew that magic beans weren’t real!
“João, honey, go to bed. Amelia, please go home,” João’s mother said sadly.
At night, crying because he didn’t know what they would eat the next day, João threw the beans out the window in anger and went to sleep too.
The next day, the beans proved to be magical! A beanstalk that reached up to the clouds had grown in João’s yard! Although João’s mother wasn’t sure what to do with it, whether to sell beans, she didn’t worry and let João meet Amelia to go play.
João and Amelia, always curious, decided to climb the beanstalk! And the climb seemed endless… Amelia thought about how her secret hideout, the Magic Garden, had a beanstalk just like this, but it was a lot shorter! Finally, when they passed the clouds, they found a giant castle! A giant woman, very tall indeed, welcomed João and Amelia, and though she was kind, she asked them to leave because her husband was a giant who ate children!
The ground began to shake, and João and Amelia hid. In their hiding spot, they found some gold coins on the ground, and João quickly put them in his pocket. When they thought they could run away from the giant, they did, and managed to climb down the beanstalk quickly. Amelia told João that their hiding place, Magic Garden, was better than where they had hidden.
“João, the Magic Garden has beautiful flowers and a nice big tree to climb!” she said.
João agreed with Amelia that they would live simply, but when the coins ran out, they would climb the beanstalk again. For a long time, João and his mother lived simply but comfortably with the coins João had taken. Now, João’s mother gave pieces of cake for Amelia to take home, repaying the kindness. Amelia said that their family would be very happy with the cake!
“My mom will think the cake is a magic treat!” she said.
Eventually, the coins ran out. João and Amelia decided to climb the beanstalk again, knowing the danger of the giant. This time, they entered the castle and hid in the kitchen. There, the giant was taking care of a fat hen. And when they least expected it, João and Amelia saw the hen lay golden eggs! They waited for the giant to fall asleep, and managed to capture the hen, who didn’t make any noise. Then they climbed down with her! It was difficult, but they succeeded!
“I can imagine how happy the hen will be to be free,” said Amelia, dreaming of her secret garden.
João’s mother was happy, they would always have something to eat! But João had seen a golden harp on his way out of the castle and thought he would go alone this time.
The next day, João didn’t play with Amelia and climbed the beanstalk again. He intended to be quick since he knew where the harp was. But this time, the giant was waiting for João at the door. The giant chased João, but the boy finally managed to escape!
Very distressed, João went to Amelia’s house and told them what had happened. They had the idea to cut down the beanstalk so the giant could never come down, and anyway, João’s mother was already happy with the fat hen that laid golden eggs.
João and Amelia managed to cut down the beanstalk with a lot of effort. Even though Amelia was only five years old, she helped! But they succeeded! And thus, the giant would never come down.
Amelia told João that all they needed was the essentials, no more, no less, just the essentials! And that danger wasn’t worth it!
João’s mother felt relieved with the beanstalk gone and invited João and Amelia for a delicious afternoon snack!
And that afternoon, the table at João’s house was full: of bread, cake, love, and laughter! The essentials!
