Emma and João loved being neighbors! They lived in nearby houses in Houston. 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. Sometimes, Branca’s milk was all they had to eat in a day. But whenever Emma could, she brought some snacks to ensure endless playtime on the grass. João’s mother was always grateful. João loved playing tag, and Emma enjoyed their interest in Unicorns. That day, they were playing with Emma's interest in Unicorns. They pretended to be Unicorn riders, galloping through the grass.
One day, João’s mother asked him to sell Branca because they needed more than just milk. “We need more to eat!” she said, with a sad face. So João called Emma, 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 Emma. “Hello, children!” he said, with a big smile.
“Do you have a cow to sell?” he asked. “I’m willing to trade you something very special for her!” João and Emma were curious! “What do you have?” asked Emma. “I have magic beans!” the old man said, holding out his hand. “They’re special. They can give you more food than a cow!”
João and Emma quickly thought, “beans provide more food than milk!” So they accepted the offer! “Deal!” exclaimed João, shaking the old man’s hand.
When they returned to João’s house, João’s mother started crying when she heard the news! “Oh, João, my dear,” she said, wiping her eyes. “The old man tricked you. You just traded our only source of food for beans! What will we eat now?”
João’s mother asked Emma to go home and for João to go to bed. At night, crying because he didn’t know what they would eat the next day, João threw the beans out the window in anger. Then he 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! “Oh my!” said João’s mother, “What a strange thing. But hey, we’ll sell those beans! We’ll have plenty of food.” Although João’s mother wasn’t sure what to do with it, she didn’t worry and let João meet Emma to go play.
João and Emma, always curious, decided to climb the beanstalk! And the climb seemed endless… “It’s so tall!” said Emma, looking up at the sky. Finally, when they passed the clouds, they found a giant castle! A giant woman, very tall indeed, welcomed João and Emma. “Welcome, children!” she said. Although she was kind, she asked them to leave because her husband was a giant who ate children! “Oh no,” said João, scared. “We need to get out of here!”
The ground began to shake, and João and Emma hid in a small cupboard. In their hiding spot, they found some gold coins on the ground. João quickly put them in his pocket. When they thought they could run away from the giant, they did. They managed to climb down the beanstalk quickly. “Wow, João,” said Emma, “That giant castle was scary! My castle is better! My castle is enchanted! It’s much safer.”
João agreed with Emma 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 Emma to take home, repaying the kindness. “My family will love this cake!” Emma said, with a big smile.
Eventually, the coins ran out. João and Emma 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 Emma saw the hen lay golden eggs! “Wow!” said Emma, with wide eyes. They waited for the giant to fall asleep and managed to capture the hen. The hen didn’t make any noise! Then they climbed down with her! It was difficult, but they succeeded! “See, João,” Emma said, “It’s just like my enchanted castle. I’ve done this before.” She was so proud of herself.
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 Emma 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!
João went to Emma’s house, very distressed, and told them what had happened. “We need to get rid of that beanstalk!” said Emma. They had the idea to cut down the beanstalk so the giant could never come down. João’s mother was already happy with the fat hen that laid golden eggs.
João and Emma managed to cut down the beanstalk with a lot of effort. Emma, being only 5, had to climb on João’s back to reach the top of the beanstalk. But they succeeded! And thus, the giant would never come down.
“See, João,” said Emma, “All we need are the essentials, no more, no less, just the essentials! And danger isn’t worth it!”
João’s mother felt relieved with the beanstalk gone. She invited João and Emma for a delicious afternoon snack!
And that afternoon, the table at João’s house was full: of bread, cake, love, and laughter! The essentials!
