Abigail and João loved being neighbors! They lived in nearby houses in Washington. João’s house had a big yard, all grassy, where lots of cows and chickens used to live. Now, João lived with his mother and one cow named Branca in the yard. Sometimes, they only had Branca's milk to eat for the whole day. But Abigail and João loved to play together in the yard. Abigail would always bring snacks, and João's mother was always happy to see them! João loved to play tag, and Abigail loved to talk about mermaids. They would spend hours pretending to be mermaids swimming in the grass.
One day, João's mother told him that they needed more than just milk to eat. She told him that they had to sell Branca! João was very sad. He loved Branca! He called Abigail, and together they laughed and went to the market. As they passed by a corner, a kind old man stopped them. He said, "Hello, little ones! I have something wonderful for you!" He showed João and Abigail some magic beans. "These magic beans will give you more food than milk!" He said. João and Abigail looked at each other. They thought about the magic beans. They thought maybe beans would be better than milk. "Okay, we'll trade you Branca for the beans!" they said. The old man smiled and took Branca away. João and Abigail were very happy.
When they returned to João’s house, João's mother was very upset! She said, "The old man tricked us! We need Branca's milk to eat! We have no food now!" João felt very bad! He didn’t know what to do! João's mother told Abigail to go home and told João to go to bed. João went to his room and cried. He was so sad! He didn’t know what he would eat the next day. He was so angry that he threw the beans out the window. Then he went to sleep.
The next morning, João woke up to something amazing! A beanstalk, taller than any tree, had grown from the bean! It was so tall it reached up to the clouds! João's mother didn’t know what to do with the beanstalk, but she didn’t worry about it. She let João meet Abigail to play.
João and Abigail were so curious! They wanted to climb the beanstalk! They climbed and climbed. The beanstalk was so tall! It seemed like they would never reach the top! Abigail kept looking around and saying, "Look, João, what’s that? What's that over there?" João always smiled and looked at what Abigail wanted to see. Finally, they reached the top of the clouds! There, they saw a giant castle! A giant woman opened the castle door and greeted them. She was very tall, but she was also very nice! But she asked them to leave. "My husband is a giant who eats children!" she said.
The ground started to shake, and they knew the giant was coming! João and Abigail quickly hid. They found some gold coins on the ground. João put the coins in his pocket! When the shaking stopped, they ran as fast as they could, back down the beanstalk. They climbed down quickly. Abigail said, "João, our hiding place at the Deep ocean is much better than where we hid!"
João agreed. "We can live simply, but when the coins are gone, we will climb the beanstalk again." They went back to João’s house, and João’s mother was very happy. She was so happy to see her son! João gave his mother the gold coins. Now João’s mother had enough money to buy food. She even had enough money to bake cake! She gave Abigail a big piece of cake to take home. Abigail said, "My family will be so happy with the cake!"
The coins lasted for a long time. João and his mother lived comfortably. They had enough food and even had some extra money. But one day, the coins were all gone! João and Abigail climbed the beanstalk again. They knew it was dangerous to go back up there, but they needed more money. They snuck into the giant’s castle and hid in the kitchen. The giant was taking care of a fat hen. They watched the hen lay a golden egg! João and Abigail waited until the giant fell asleep, and then they quietly took the hen. The hen didn’t make a sound. Then, they quickly climbed down the beanstalk with the hen. It was very hard, but they managed to do it. Abigail told João, "Remember, João, you can do anything you want if you try hard!"
João’s mother was so happy! Now, she had a hen that laid golden eggs! They would always have enough to eat! But on his way out of the castle, João had seen a golden harp. He thought he would go back up to get the harp. "I’ll be back soon," he said to Abigail.
The next day, João didn’t meet Abigail. He climbed the beanstalk again. He wanted to go quickly. He knew where the harp was. But this time, the giant was waiting for João at the door. The giant chased João! He was so scared! João ran as fast as he could, and he finally got away.
João went to Abigail’s house. He was scared and crying! He told Abigail what had happened. They decided that they needed to cut down the beanstalk. They didn’t want the giant to come down. They also knew that João’s mother was happy with the hen that laid golden eggs.
João and Abigail worked together to cut down the beanstalk. It was very hard work for a little girl like Abigail, but they kept working together. They chopped and chopped until the beanstalk fell down. The giant would never come down again!
Abigail told João, "João, we don’t need anything more than what we have. Just the essentials! Danger isn’t worth it."
João’s mother was so happy that the beanstalk was gone. She didn’t have to worry about the giant anymore! She invited João and Abigail to have a snack.
And that afternoon, the table at João’s house was full: of bread, cake, love, and laughter! The essentials!
