But that was all Jack heard, for he rushed off to the beanstalk and
climbed down like a house on fire. And when he got home he showed his
mother the wonderful hen and said “Lay,” to it; and it laid a golden egg
every time he said “Lay.”
Well, Jack was not content, and it wasn't very long before he determined
to have another try at his luck up there at the top of the beanstalk. So
one fine morning, he got up early, and went on to the beanstalk, and he
climbed and he climbed and he climbed and he climbed till he got to
the top. But this time he knew better than to go straight to the ogre's
house. And when he got near it he waited behind a bush till he saw the
ogre's wife come out with a pail to get some water, and then he crept
into the house and got into the copper. He hadn't been there long when
he heard thump! thump! thump! as before, and in come the ogre and his
wife.
“Fee-fi-fo-fum, I smell the blood of an Englishman,” cried out the ogre;
“I smell him, wife, I smell him.”
“Do you, my dearie?” says the ogre's wife. “Then if it's that little
rogue that stole your gold and the hen that laid the golden eggs he's
sure to have got into the oven.” And they both rushed to the oven. But
Jack wasn't there, luckily, and the ogre's wife said: “There you are
again with your fee-fi-fo-fum. Why of course it's the laddie you caught
last night that I've broiled for your breakfast. How forgetful I am, and
how careless you are not to tell the difference between a live un and a
dead un.”
So the ogre sat down to the breakfast and ate it, but every now and
then he would mutter: “Well, I could have sworn----” and he'd get up
and search the larder and the cupboards, and everything, only luckily he
didn't think of the copper.
After breakfast was over, the ogre called out: “Wife, wife, bring me my
golden harp.” So she brought it and put it on the table before him. Then
he said: “Sing!” and the golden harp sang most beautifully. And it
went on singing till the ogre fell asleep, and commenced to snore like
thunder.
Then Jack lifted up the copper-lid very quietly and got down like a
mouse and crept on hands and knees till he got to the table when he got
up and caught hold of the golden harp and dashed with it towards the
door. But the harp called out quite loud: “Master! Master!” and the ogre
woke up just in time to see Jack running off with his harp.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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