Logan and João loved being neighbors! They lived in houses near each other in New York. The only difference was that João had a huge yard with lots of grass where many cows and chickens used to live. Now, João lived with his mom and a single cow named Branca. Sometimes, their only food was Branca's milk. Whenever he could, Logan brought snacks to João's house for endless playtime on the grass. João's mom was always happy to see them. João loved playing tag, and Logan enjoyed talking about robots. Today, they were playing with Logan's robots!
One day, João's mom asked him to sell Branca because they needed more than just milk. João called Logan, and they went to the market together. As they passed by a corner, they met a kind old man. The old man smiled at João and Logan. "Hello, boys!" he said. "What are you doing today?"
"We're going to sell our cow!" João laughed.
"Sell your cow?" The old man was surprised. "Well, I have something special for you. Would you like to trade your cow for some magic beans?"
"Magic beans?" Logan asked, looking shyly at the old man. "What can you do with those?"
João was curious. "Beans are food, right? We could eat them!" he said. "That's more than just milk."
The old man nodded. "You will be surprised by what these beans can do!"
João and Logan agreed to trade Branca for the beans. They said goodbye to their cow, a little sad, and left with the old man. They were excited about the beans and thought they were lucky to have traded their cow for them.
When they returned to João's house, João's mom was surprised! "What did you do?" she asked.
"We traded Branca for magic beans!" João said.
João's mom looked at the beans with a worried expression. "What magic?" she asked. "You know, my dear, we need more than magic."
"But the man said the beans were special!" João shouted. "He said they would give us more than just milk."
João's mom sighed. "I'm afraid that old man tricked us," she said. "He probably just wanted to get rid of the beans."
João's mom told Logan to go home and João to go to bed. That night, João was upset because he didn't know what they would eat the next day. He was angry at the old man and threw the beans out the window. Then, he went to bed.
The next morning, João woke up to an amazing sight! A giant beanstalk had grown in his yard, reaching up to the clouds! It was like a ladder to the sky. João's mom was confused, but she decided to let João meet Logan to play.
João and Logan, always curious, decided to climb the beanstalk. It was a long and tiring climb, but they kept going. Logan climbed slowly behind João. He was a little scared but followed his friend. Finally, they reached the clouds and found a giant castle!
A giant woman, very tall indeed, welcomed them to the castle. She was kind but asked them to leave. "My husband is a giant who eats children!" she said.
They could hear a loud noise from inside the castle. The ground began to shake. They quickly hid in a corner. There, they found some gold coins on the ground. João quickly put them in his pocket.
When they thought it was safe, João and Logan ran out of the castle. They climbed down the beanstalk as fast as they could.
"Let's go to my Secret Tower," Logan whispered to João. "It's much safer than this giant castle!"
João agreed. They both knew they would need to find a way to get more coins. They decided to climb the beanstalk again when their money ran out.
For a long time, João and his mom lived simply but comfortably with the coins João had brought back. João's mom even gave Logan pieces of cake to take home to his family. "My mom will be so happy with this cake!" Logan said shyly, holding the cake.
But eventually, the coins ran out. João and Logan 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.
To their surprise, João and Logan saw the hen lay golden eggs! They waited for the giant to fall asleep and carefully took the hen. She didn't make any noise. Then, they climbed down the beanstalk with her. It was a difficult climb, but Logan and João were very careful.
João's mom was happy! She had a hen that laid golden eggs, so they would always have food. But João had seen a golden harp in the castle and decided to climb the beanstalk again, this time by himself.
The next day, João didn't play with Logan. He climbed the beanstalk to get the harp. He wanted to be quick, but the giant was waiting for him at the door! The giant chased João, but the boy managed to escape.
Very scared, João ran to Logan's house and told him everything that happened. They decided to cut down the beanstalk so the giant could never come down. João's mom was already happy with the golden eggs.
With a lot of effort, João and Logan cut down the beanstalk. It was a big job, but they did it! The giant would never be able to come down again.
"We don't need more than the essentials, João," Logan said. "We have food and a safe place. That's all we need."
João's mom was relieved the beanstalk was gone. She invited João and Logan for a delicious afternoon snack.
And that afternoon, the table at João's house was full of bread, cake, love, and laughter! The essentials!
