Ethan and João loved being neighbors! They lived in nearby houses in Indianapolis. 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, and sometimes her milk was all they had to eat in a day. But whenever Ethan could, they brought some snacks to ensure endless playtime on the grass, and João’s mother was always grateful. João loved playing tag, and Ethan enjoyed their interest in Fishing. That day, they were playing with Ethan's interest in Fishing.
One day, João’s mother asked him to sell Branca because they needed more than just milk. So João called Ethan, 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 Ethan.
“Hello, boys!” the old man said. “Are you selling this cow?”
“Yes, we are,” João said, looking at the old man. “But do you want to buy her?”
“I don’t need a cow, my dear boy!” the old man said. “I have magic beans. Would you trade your cow for my magic beans?”
“Magic beans?” João asked. Ethan looked at João, thinking: “But… beans provide more food than milk!”
“Yes, magic beans!” the old man said, smiling at them.
João thought about it. They could plant beans. And they would have a lot of food. “Okay,” João said, “We’ll trade!”
The old man gave them the beans and then went away. João and Ethan were so excited!
When they returned to João’s house, João’s mother started crying when she heard the news! “Those beans are not magic,” she said, “That old man tricked you!”
João’s mother asked Ethan 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 Ethan to go play.
João and Ethan, always curious, decided to climb the beanstalk! And the climb seemed endless… Ethan climbed with João. He thought: “This beanstalk is even taller than our house!” Finally, when they passed the clouds, they found a giant castle! A giant woman, very tall indeed, welcomed João and Ethan, 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 Ethan 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.
“The Mysterious lake is much better than this place,” Ethan said.
“Yes, it is much better,” João said. “But we’ll climb again.”
João agreed with Ethan 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 Ethan to take home, repaying the kindness.
“My family will be very happy with the cake,” Ethan said.
Eventually, the coins ran out. João and Ethan 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 Ethan 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!
“You’re really clever,” João said to Ethan.
“It wasn’t hard!” Ethan said.
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 Ethan 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 Ethan’s house and told them what had happened.
“We need to cut down the beanstalk,” Ethan said, “The giant can’t come down, and your mother is already happy with the fat hen.”
João and Ethan managed to cut down the beanstalk with a lot of effort. They succeeded! And thus, the giant would never come down.
“All we need are the essentials,” Ethan said. “No more, no less. Just the essentials!”
João’s mother felt relieved with the beanstalk gone and invited João and Ethan for a delicious afternoon snack!
And that afternoon, the table at João’s house was full: of bread, cake, love, and laughter! The essentials!
