Matthew and João loved being neighbors! They lived in nearby houses in Fort Worth. 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 Matthew could, they brought some snacks to ensure endless playtime on the grass, and João’s mother was always grateful. João loved playing tag, and Matthew enjoyed their interest in Cars. That day, they were playing with Matthew's interest in Cars.
One day, João’s mother asked him to sell Branca because they needed more than just milk. "João," she said, "we need more than just milk." So João called Matthew, 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 Matthew. "Hello, boys!" he said.
"Do you want some magic beans?" he asked.
"Magic beans?" João and Matthew said together. "What do they do?"
"They make food!" the old man said. "More food than milk!"
João and Matthew thought, "Beans provide more food than milk!" "Yes!" Matthew said, running in circles. They accepted the offer!
When they returned to João’s house, João’s mother started crying when she heard the news! "Oh João," she cried. "What have you done?!" "I know you need more than just milk," she said, "but why would you sell Branca? She was all we had." The old man had tricked João and Matthew. João's mother asked Matthew to go home and for João to go to bed. "I'm sorry, Matthew," said João. "You should go home. I'm going to bed now."
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! "Wow," said João's mother. "Look at this beanstalk!" Although João’s mother wasn’t sure what to do with it, whether to sell beans, she didn’t worry and let João meet Matthew to go play.
"João, come on, let's climb the beanstalk!" Matthew said, as he ran around in circles. João and Matthew, always curious, decided to climb the beanstalk! And the climb seemed endless… "It's so high!" Matthew said. "But I'm running like a race car! I can do it!" He ran up the beanstalk, faster and faster! Finally, when they passed the clouds, they found a giant castle! A giant woman, very tall indeed, welcomed João and Matthew, and though she was kind, she asked them to leave because her husband was a giant who ate children! "Oh, no!" said João. "What should we do?"
The ground began to shake, and João and Matthew hid. "Run, run, run!" cried Matthew, as they ran into a secret place. In their hiding spot, they found some gold coins on the ground, and João quickly put them in his pocket. "Look, Matthew," João said, "we found some gold coins!" When they thought they could run away from the giant, they did, and managed to climb down the beanstalk quickly. "That giant was scary!" said Matthew. "But we found some gold coins! "He ran around and around in circles, as he told João. "And we climbed down the beanstalk!" He said. "That was fun! I ran like a race car!" "That giant was scary!" said Matthew. "My secret hideout, Car world, is better than where we hid!"
João agreed with Matthew that they would live simply, but when the coins ran out, they would climb the beanstalk again. "I'll climb the beanstalk again, but for now, let's live simply," said João. For a long time, João and his mother lived simply but comfortably with the coins João had taken. "Thank you, João," João's mother said. "You saved us!" Now, João’s mother gave pieces of cake for Matthew to take home, repaying the kindness. "This is for your family, Matthew," said João's mother. Matthew said that their family would be very happy with the cake. "My family will love this cake!" he said. "I love cake!"
Eventually, the coins ran out. "We're out of money!" said João. "We need more money!" João and Matthew 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 Matthew saw the hen lay golden eggs! "Wow!" said Matthew. "This is great! I'm running like a race car!" He ran around the kitchen, so excited! 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't believe we did it!" said Matthew. "I ran like a race car, and we climbed down the beanstalk with the hen! And we even hid from the giant! This is so much fun!"
João’s mother was happy; they would always have something to eat! "Thank you, João," said João's mother. "We'll always have something to eat now." But João had seen a golden harp on his way out of the castle and thought he would go alone this time. "I want the harp," he said. "I'm going to get it!"
The next day, João didn’t play with Matthew 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. "Oh, no!" said João. "The giant is here!" The giant chased João, but the boy finally managed to escape! "I got away!" said João. "But the giant was scary! He's so big!"
Very distressed, João went to Matthew’s house and told them what had happened. "We need to get rid of the beanstalk," said Matthew. 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. "We can do it, Matthew!" João said. "Let's cut down the beanstalk!"
João and Matthew managed to cut down the beanstalk with a lot of effort. It was hard work for 6-year-old Matthew. But they succeeded! And thus, the giant would never come down. "We did it!" said Matthew. "We cut down the beanstalk! Now the giant can't get down!" Matthew told João that all they needed was the essentials, no more, no less, just the essentials! And that danger wasn’t worth it! "We don't need more than the essentials," said Matthew. "It's not worth the danger."
João’s mother felt relieved with the beanstalk gone and invited João and Matthew for a delicious afternoon snack! "Come in, boys," said João's mother. "I have a snack for you."
And that afternoon, the table at João’s house was full: of bread, cake, love, and laughter! The essentials!
