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RUMP
C
A
J K
JACK
THE TRUE STOR Y OF
LIESL SHURTLIFF
A YEARLING BOOK
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coverless, it may have been reported to the publisher as unsold or destroyed
and neither the author nor the publisher may have received payment for it.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either
are the product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously.
Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales
is entirely coincidental.
Text copyright 2015 by Liesl Shurtliff
Cover art copyright 2015 by Jim Madsen
All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Yearling, an imprint of
Random House Childrens Books, a division of Penguin Random House LLC,
New York. Originally published in hardcover in the United States by
Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Childrens Books,
New York, in 2015.
Yearling and the jumping horse design are registered trademarks
of Penguin Random House LLC.
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The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition
of this work as follows:
Shurtliff, Liesl.
Jack : the true story of Jack and the beanstalk / Liesl Shurtliff. First edition.
p. cm.
Summary: Relates the tale of Jack who, after trading his mothers
milk cow for magic beans, climbs a beanstalk to seek his missing father
in the land of giants.
ISBN 978-0-385-75579-5 (trade) ISBN 978-0-385-75580-1 (lib. bdg.)
ISBN 978-0-385-75582-5 (pbk.) ISBN 978-0-385-75581-8 (ebook)
[1. Fairy tales. 2. Adventure and adventurersFiction.
3. Missing personsFiction. 4. GiantsFiction. 5. Humorous stories.] I. Title.
PZ8.S34525Jac 2015 [Fic]dc23 2014013403
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
First Yearling Edition 2016
Random House Childrens Books supports the First Amendment
and celebrates the right to read.
CHAPTER ONE
A Sprinkling of Dirt
t was a mystery, and in a small village where mysteries are in short supply, word travels fast. By noon
the whole village had gathered to inspect Miss Letties
cabbage-less field. It was a mess, to say the least. There
were great heaps of dirt in some areas, and giant holes in
others. Some of the trees had fallen over, torn up by the
roots. The Widow Franciss thirteen children turned it
into a playground, sliding down the mounds of dirt and
jumping into the newly formed ditches, unaware of any
misfortune.
My, my, said Baker Baker. Yes, his name was Baker
Baker, firstly because his name was Baker, and secondly
because he was an actual baker of breads and rolls and
pies. He said his father named him that so hed be twice
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the baker. It also had the effect of making him say a lot
of words twice. Who could have done such a terrible,
terrible thing?
A couple of suspicious glances drifted my way. They
were probably remembering how I set fire to the blacksmiths shop a few weeks agobut that wasnt on purpose. I was just trying to light a torch to go on a giant
hunt.
Jack didnt do it, said Papa. I can vouch for my
son.
I heard some thunder last night, said Horace. Kept
Cindy tossing and turning. Cindy was Horaces pet pig.
He carried her everywhere and talked to her like she was
a real person. Maybe it was lightning struck your field,
fried all the cabbages.
Do you see any fried cabbages here? asked Miss
Lettie. Theyre gone! Uprooted! Stolen!
Wild animals, then? offered Horace.
Maybe it was your fat pigs, said Miss Lettie. Youre
always letting those hogs get into my cabbages!
Cindy wouldnt eat your cabbages, would you, girl?
Snort.
See? Cindys a good girl.
Miss Lettie snorted, too.
I doubt a herd of cattle could have done this, let
alone pigs, said Papa.
Im telling you, it was a storm, said Horace. Didnt
you hear it?
There were murmurs of agreement. The harvest season brought with it plenty of stormsrainstorms and
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Giants.
The word caught my attention like a crumb of cheese
calling to a hungry mouse.
Giants? asked Miss Lettie. Did you just say giants
stole my cabbages?
Yes, maam, said Jaber. Came in the night and
ripped em right out of your field.
Mutters and whispers rose amongst the villagers.
Could it be true? someone asked.
It isnt true.
Hogwash, Mama murmured.
Where are they? Miss Lettie asked. Which way
did they go? Giants or not, she looked ready to track
them down and beat them with a hoe until they gave her
back her precious cabbages.
Jaber pointed straight up. In the sky. The giants live
in the sky.
Then the village erupted with laughter. Even I had
to admit the idea of giants in the sky was absurd. Maybe
Jaber was just confused. Maybe he saw them climb a really high cliff or mountain, which sometimes looks like
its disappearing into the sky. That wasnt so hard to believe.
Its true! Its true! shouted Jaber above the laughter.
I saw them rip open the sky with a bolt of lightning, and
their footsteps went boom, boom, BOOM!
Hes describing the storm last night, said Horace.
Didnt I say it was a storm?
Twerent no storm! shouted Jaber. The giants,
10
they been stealing all over the country. I just came from a
village that was ravaged by giants. They stole everything.
The cows, the chickens, all the food from the fields
even the houses and the people in them! The whole
ding-dong village, gone, like it was never there!
Maybe it was never there, said Mama.
You know what I think? Miss Lettie said. I think
it was you who took my cabbages! She pointed a bony
finger at Jaber.
Me? Jaber said.
Yes, you! You probably carted my cabbages away and
sold them in another village, and now youre feeding us
all some crackpot story about giants falling from the sky!
You aint nothing but a swindler, is what you are!
Jabers face turned beet red. His eyes rolled up and
down and side to side. You think it was me? You think
Im stealin from you? I aint stealin. Those giants will
be back, and if they dont crush you beneath their feet,
theyll snatch you up and grind your bones! Jaber was
in a frenzy. Spit flew out of his mouth and he waved his
arms so wildly he lost his balance and fell to the ground.
No one helped him up. They just walked away, heehawing about Jaber and his mad tales.
Hes a nutter, said Horace.
Nuttier than my Nutty-Nutty Bread, said Baker
Baker.
Hes nothing but a common crackpot cabbage
thief! said Miss Lettie.
Come on, Jack, said Papa. Back to work.
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13
CHAPTER TWO
Boom, Boom, BOOM!
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said? How the giants took houses and buildings and entire villages.
You mustnt listen to Jaber, said Mama. Hes not
right in the head.
Why? I asked. Just because he has a wooden leg?
Just because he likes to tell stories? That doesnt mean
the giants arent real. What about Grandpa Jack? What
about all the giants he killed?
Mama looked at Papa. He sighed. Jack, we have no
way of knowing if those stories are true, and the truth is,
Ive never seen a giant. No one has. Not anyone living,
that is.
But weve got to do something, I said. If the giants
are real, we could be next!
Ill hide, said Annabella with determination. Im
good at hiding.
Theres no hiding from giants, I warned her. They
can smell you from a mile away.
Thats enough, Jack, said Mama.
Theyll hunt you down, snatch you right out of your
bed.
Annabella squeaked and ducked under the table.
Jack, I said stop! said Mama.
First theyll eat your flesh and then grind your bones
to make bread. A niiiice golden loaf of Annabella Bone
Bre
Enough! Papa pounded on the table. Everything
went still. Papa was pale and trembling, his hands in
tight fists. Thats enough talk.
But if giants
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and Mama came to the door and called for me, but I
ignored her. Finally she gave up and went inside. I
pulled out my sling to do some target practice. I flung
the beans from dinner high up into the sky, each one a
little higher than the last. Once or twice I thought theyd
gotten stuck up there in the clouds, but they all came
down eventually. They landed in the dirt, where theyd
probably grow into more beans that Mama would make
me eat. I stopped throwing and just leaned against the
trunk, swinging my legs until my eyes grew heavy.
Boom.
I woke with a start and nearly fell out of my tree.
What just happened? I guess I fell asleep in the tree.
Probably not the safest bed.
It was full dark now. A misty moon shone behind the
clouds. There were no lights on in the house and only
the glow of a single lantern in the barn.
MooooOOOOOoooo!
Milky White must be calving out now. That must
have been what woke me.
Boom.
A vibration traveled up the tree and buzzed in my
bones. I looked up. The clouds roiled and the sky rumbled liked a hungry stomach. There was a flash. Lightning. Thunder.
It started to rain, just a sprinkling at first, and then
it got faster. Harder. Heavier. It stung my skin as it came
18
Boom! CRACK!
BOOM!
Crack!
BOOM!
Boom!
Crack!
The giant yanked the tree out with one hand. I clung
to the branches, whooshing up, up, up in the air. Soon
I was level with the giants face. Teeth the size of dinner plates sliced down just inches from my head. The
giant crunched on the wood and leaves. He spat it out,
then tossed the tree away. I sailed with it, clinging to
the branches as the tree crashed down on our roof and
ripped into the side of the house. I smacked my head on
21
something and got scratched on all the branches. Someone screamed. Inside the house.
Mama and Annabella. I pulled myself up from the
branches, ignoring the throbbing pain in my head. Were
they hurt? Had the tree crushed them?
The giant stomped toward the house. No doubt the
cries had alerted him to a potential meal.
MoooooOOOOOoooo!
The giant paused near the barn, searching for the
cow he had missed. He got down on his hands and
knees and crawled around, sniffing. My heart pounded.
My hands grew clammy.
The giant tore off the barn roof. Planks cracked and
flew in all directions.
MooooOOOOOooooo!
I needed to distract him. I had to get him away from
Papa. I rummaged through my pockets and pulled out
my sling and a green bean from dinner. It was all I had.
I swung the bean around and around and let it fly. . . .
The bean landed in the giants ear. He didnt move. It
wasnt big enough to bother him.
MoooooOOOOOoooo!
The giant dug through the barn like he was searching for crawly critters under a log. A smile stretched over
his face. He reached inside and pulled out the newborn
calf. It mewled pitifully. But that was not all. Something
else was clinging to the calf. Extra legs dangled from its
middle. Papa was going up and up with the calf, too high
to let go.
No. Not Papa.
22
BOOM!
Boom.
Boom.
23
CHAPTER THREE
Sir Bluberys
the knight drew closer, I noticed that his armor was not
exactly shiningit was dingy and rusty. And his noble
steed was a swaybacked mule that kept bucking and veering off course.
Whoa there! Ho, you lowly beast! shouted the
knight. Heed my command! The mule bellowed and
bucked so hard, the knight nearly fell to the ground with
a clatter. The knight quickly stood and bowed before me.
His rusty armor creaked with every move.
Lowly villagers! He spoke as though an entire village was present to hear him. I, Sir Bluberys the Chivalrous, have come to protect thee from giants who
roam the land, attacking men, women, and children.
Be warned, they will pillage your farms, steal your animals, and wreak terror and havoc, but never fear! I shall
protect thee with my strength and valor! He lifted his
creaking arms as though he was expecting a great cheer.
The giants already came, I said.
The knight looked down in surprise. Whats that
you say? Speak up, peasant boy! My noble ears need a
gallant voice!
I nearly shouted at him. The giants already came!
They raided the village and took our food and animals,
and they took my papa.
Did they truly? The knight blinked and looked
around, taking in the evidence that giants had indeed
already been to our village. He dropped his arms. Drat!
I thought we were fifty miles ahead of them at least.
Have you fought any giants? I asked. Have you
seen them?
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JACK:
BY LIESL SHURTLIFF