Ava and João loved being neighbors! They lived in nearby houses in San Antonio. The only difference was that João had a huge yard, all grassy, where many cows and chickens used to live. Now, 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 Ava could, they brought some snacks to ensure endless playtime on the grass, and João’s mother was always grateful. João loved playing tag, and Ava enjoyed their interest in Dogs. That day, they were playing with Ava's interest in Dogs. João was pretending to be a dog, barking and wagging his tail, and Ava was pretending to be a dog trainer, teaching him tricks.
One day, João’s mother asked him to sell Branca because they needed more than just milk. So João called Ava, 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 Ava.
“Hello, children,” the old man said. “I see you have a beautiful cow. Would you like to trade her for something magical?”
João and Ava looked at each other, curious. “What do you mean, magical?” Ava asked.
“These beans,” the old man said, holding out a bag of brown beans. “They’re magic beans! Plant them, and they’ll grow a beanstalk that reaches all the way to the sky!”
João and Ava quickly thought, beans provide more food than milk! “Okay,” said João, “we’ll do it!”
They traded Branca for the beans, and, excited, they hurried home.
When they returned to João’s house, João’s mother started crying when she heard the news! “Oh, João, you silly boy! Those beans are a trick! They’ll never grow anything!” she cried.
João’s mother asked Ava 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 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 Ava to go play.
João and Ava, always curious, decided to climb the beanstalk! And the climb seemed endless… Ava climbed with João, and her intelligent mind raced with questions about what they might find at the top. Finally, when they passed the clouds, they found a giant castle! A giant woman, very tall indeed, welcomed João and Ava, 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 Ava 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. Ava told João that their hiding place, Zoo, was better than where they had hidden.
João agreed with Ava 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 Ava to take home, repaying the kindness. Ava said that their family would be very happy with the cake, considering their Intelligent personality.
Eventually, the coins ran out. João and Ava 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 Ava 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! Ava, with her intelligent mind, thought of using her long, red hair to tie the hen to their backs.
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 Ava 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 Ava’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 Ava managed to cut down the beanstalk with a lot of effort. It was hard work for Ava, being so small. But they succeeded! And thus, the giant would never come down.
Ava 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 Ava for a delicious afternoon snack!
And that afternoon, the table at João’s house was full: of bread, cake, love, and laughter! The essentials!
