s--one white and the other red.

JACK AND THE BEAN-STALK.

In the days of King Alfred, there lived a poor woman, whose cottage
was in a remote country village, many miles from London. She had been
a widow some years, and had an only child named Jack, whom she
indulged so much that he never paid the least attention to anything
she said, but was indolent, careless, and extravagant. His follies
were not owing to a bad disposition, but to his mother's foolish
partiality. By degrees, he spent all that she had--scarcely anything
remained but a cow. One day, for the first time in her life, she
reproached him: "Cruel, cruel boy! you have at last brought me to
beggary. I have not money enough to purchase even a bit of bread;
nothing now remains to sell but my poor cow! I am sorry to part with
her; it grieves me sadly, but we cannot starve." For a few minutes
Jack felt remorse, but it was soon over; and he began asking his
mother to let him sell the cow at the next village; teasing her so
much, that she at last consented. As he was going along he met a
butcher, who inquired why he was driving the cow from home? Jack
replied, he was going to sell it. The butcher held some curious beans
in his hat; they were of various colors, and attracted Jack's
attention; this did not pass unnoticed by the man, who, knowing
Jack's easy temper, thought now was the time to take an advantage of
it; and, determined not to let slip so good an opportunity, asked what
was the price of the cow, offering at the same time all the beans in
his hat for her. The silly boy could not conceal the pleasure he felt
at what he supposed so great an offer: the bargain was struck
instantly, and the cow exchanged for a few paltry beans. Jack made the
best of his way home, calling aloud to his mother before he reached
the door, thinking to surprise her.

When she saw the beans, and heard Jack's account, her patience quite
forsook her: she tossed the beans out of the window, where they fell
on the garden-bed below. Then she threw her apron over her head, and
cried bitterly. Jack attempted to console her, but in vain, and, not
having anything to eat, they both went supperless to bed. Jack awoke
early in the morning, and seeing something uncommon darkening the
window of his bedchamber, ran downstairs into the garden, where he
found some of the beans had taken root, and sprung up surprisingly:
the stalks were of an immense thickness, and had twined together unti