ed out to
his wife to bring him his hen, which, after being brought, whenever
the Giant said "Lay," the hen laid a golden egg. The Giant soon fell
asleep, and Jack crept out softly and seized the hen, and made off
without disturbing the Giant. Away ran Jack till he came to the
Beanstalk; he was much sooner at the bottom of it now than at the top
in the morning; and running to his mother he told all his adventure.

The hen laid as many golden eggs as Jack liked, and his mother before
long had another cow and everything which she desired. A second time
Jack climbed the Beanstalk, when he ran away with the Giant's bag of
money. A third time Jack climbed the Beanstalk, and again gained
admission to the Giant's house. He saw the Giant's wife, and asked
her for a night's lodging. She at first said she could not let him
into the house, but Jack begged so hard that at last she consented,
and gave him some supper and put him to sleep in the copper boiler
near the kitchen fireplace, where she thought the Giant would not
find him.

When the Giant came in, his good nose served him in a moment: for he
cried out "I smell fresh meat." Jack laughed at this, but it was no
laughing matter; for the Giant looked all around the room, and even
put his finger on the lid of the copper, till it seemed as if a stone
of a hundredweight had fallen upon the lid. Just then his wife came
in with a whole roasted bullock smoking hot, which the Giant sat down
and ate for his supper, and then went down into the cellar, and drank
about six gallons of Jamaica rum. The Giant now sat down and went to
sleep, and Jack tried to run away with his golden harp, an instrument
which, when the Giant said "play," played the most beautiful tunes.
Now the harp was a fairy, and as soon as he touched it, it called out
"Master! Master!" so loud that the Giant awoke, but he was some time
before he could understand what was the matter. He tried to run after
Jack, but Jack got to the top of the beanstalk first. When he had
descended a little way he looked up, and how great was his horror to
see the huge hand of the Giant stretched down to seize him by the
hair of the head! He slid and scrambled down the Beanstalk, hardly
knowing how, and seeing the Giant just putting his feet over the top,
he called out, "Quick, mother! A hatchet, a hatchet!" Jack seized it
and chopped away at the beanstalk, when down it fell, bringing along
with it the Giant. Jack instantly cut off his he