Chapter Five

Jack trudged into the garden. He was desperate to make Mom change her mind about him. If only he hadn’t traded the hen for these tiny bean plants, he thought as he kicked one of them.

A shower of beans fell onto the ground. And suddenly Jack remembered what Mr. Goldilocks had said at the supermarket.

Not enough variety, huh? Well, maybe the supermarket would like to sell beans! He hadn’t seen any of them at the store. Jack ran off to get a basket.

Jack did sell his beans to the Forest Superstore. He was very tempted to spend all the profits on a present for Mom, but he didn’t. He thought about what she’d said, and he bought a lot more beans instead.

Within a few years, Jack’s 100 beanstalks had made him the richest farmer in the forest. He was brilliant at coming up with ideas for new products and outwitting the competition.

His picture was in the papers all the time. And he always thought before he did anything now. So Mom never, ever had to worry about money again.

She was very proud of him. “That’s my son!” she would say to all the neighbors, and she let him stay up as late as he wanted. Well, almost.

And so, amazingly enough, Jack and his Mom really did live happily ever after!