Jack and the Beanstalk

There it stood. Towering over the house stood a huge green tunnel leading to the heavens. The empty sky was cloudy and emotionless. Vines and leaves engulfed the sculpture. Contorted around it's body. The boy rose from his bed. Remembering being sent there the previous night. A punishment for his worthless trade. The beans. Sprawling around it's cylindrical trunk lay the stems. He ran outside. Towards it. Admiring it's height and complexity. Fascinated. 
Placing his hand on it's branch he hauled himself up onto the vine. Crawling eagerly up to the clouds obscuring the view above. He paused. Stared down at the life he'd just left. He must have covered 2 miles by now. 


He was beginning to feel weary when he caught a glimpse of something through the mist. Turrets. A drawbridge. Fortified walls. Focussing his eyes harder on the shapes made obvious he had reached a castle. He stepped down from his ladder. Edged further towards the magnificent structure. He had no way of knowing what would be inside but he'd come too far to turn back now. After reaching the drawbridge he stood for a moment. Still. Calculating his next move. Three minutes passed. The boy was deep in thought. Then it lowered. He walked straight into the castle but was met by a figure.


She stood tall and proud. Dwarfing the boy. She must have been ten times his height. Eleven. Twelve. The boy's stomach rumbled.
Good morning, she said. Can I help you?
Where is this?
This castle belongs to me and my husband.
Could you spare any food?
The woman looked nervously behind her then back at the boy.
Yes, she said. If you're quiet.


She led the boy into a smaller room. She busied herself preparing something to vanquish the flames of hunger which plagued his stomach. Bread. Butter. Ham. Luxuries he didn't get back home with his widowed mother. He thought of her. Was this selfish of him to have left? His thoughts were disrupted. The sound of a deafening bellow. 
Fee. Fi. Fo. Fum. I smell the blood of an Englishman.