Jack And The Beanstalk (Play)

Unit 8 – Play

Jack and the Beanstalk

by Steven Kellogg

Characters

• Narrator
• Jack
• Mother
• Old man
• Giant

Scene 1 – At Home

Narrator: Once upon a time there was a boy called Jack. He lived in a small cottage with his mother. Jack and his mother were very poor. All they had was a cow.

Mother: Jack, we don’t have any money. So, I think we have to sell the cow.

Jack: Okay, Mom. I will take the cow to the market.

Mother: Be careful, Jack.

Narrator: On the way to the market, Jack met a little old man.

Old man: Good morning, young boy. Where are you taking that cow?

Jack: I’m taking it to the market, sir. My mother and I are poor, so we need some money.

Old man: I would like to buy the cow from you.

Jack: Really?

Old man: I don’t have money. Instead, I’ll give you five magic beans.

Jack: Magic beans? Mmm.

Old man: They will make you rich.

Narrator: Jack had to think about it. He wanted to make his mother happy.

Jack: Okay! You can take the cow.

Narrator: Jack ran all the way home. He was so excited to tell his mother about the old man and the magic beans.

Jack: (running home) Mom, Mom, Mom! Look what I have got!

Mother: Did you get a good price for the cow?

Jack: No, Mom. But I got these magic beans instead!

Mother: (angrily) What? Oh, you foolish boy!

Jack: Mom, they will make us rich! Trust me.

Mother: No way! These beans are useless!

Narrator: Jack’s mother was very cross and threw the beans out of the window.

Scene 2 – On the Ground & in the Castle

Narrator: During the night, the magic beans grew into a huge beanstalk. By morning, the beanstalk reached high into the sky. Jack was so surprised.

Jack: Wow! This beanstalk is huge!

Narrator: Jack climbed and climbed and when he reached the top, he found a huge castle.

Jack: Oh my! There is a castle in the sky! I can’t believe this.

Narrator: Jack crept inside.

Jack: (whispering to himself) Everything is so big in here. Who lives in this big castle?

Narrator: Suddenly, the floor began to shake.

Jack: (scared) What is that noise?

Giant: (shouting)

Fee, fi, fo, fum,
I smell the blood of an Englishman …
Be he alive or be he dead,
I’ll grind his bones to make my bread.

Jack: (whispering) Oh no! It’s a giant! What can I do? Is there any place to hide? Oh, there is a place.

Narrator: Jack hid in a cupboard and watched as the giant ate five sheep for his meal. Then he called for his hen.

Giant: Lay me a golden egg.

Narrator: Jack watched in amazement as the hen laid a perfect golden egg.

Jack: It’s amazing! I wish I had that hen. Then Mom and I would be rich.

Scene 3 – In the Castle & at Home

Narrator: As soon as the giant was full, he fell fast asleep.

Jack: Now he is asleep. I will take the hen and climb back down the beanstalk.

Narrator: Jack quickly picked up the giant’s hen. But the hen began to squawk and flap its wings.

Jack: Shh! Be quiet! The giant might wake up!

Narrator: The giant woke up!

Giant: (shouting) Fee, fi, fo, fum, I smell the blood of a human!

Jack: (running) Oh no! Time to go!

Narrator: Jack ran back to the beanstalk and climbed down as fast as he could!

Giant: (yelling) I’ll get you!

Narrator: Jack reached the bottom of the beanstalk.

Mother: Jack, where have you been? Why do you have a hen?

Jack: Mom, hurry! Give me an axe!

Mother: Here you are. What are you going to do with an axe?

Jack: I have to chop this beanstalk down right now!

Narrator: With his axe, Jack chopped down the beanstalk.

Giant: Ahhhhh!

Narrator: The giant fell to the ground with a thud. That was the end of him!

Mother: Oh my! It’s a giant! Jack, what is going on?

Jack: The magic beans grew into this huge beanstalk. So, I climbed to the top and found the giant’s castle. I watched this hen lay a perfect golden egg.

Mother: Are you telling me the truth, Jack?

Jack: (smiling) Yes, Mom. You’ll see.

Narrator: Jack was right. The hen laid a golden egg every day and Jack and his mother were never poor again.

About the Author

Steven Kellogg (born October 26, 1941 in Norwalk, Connecticut) is an American author and illustrator who has created more than 90 children’s books. On November 12, 2011, Kellogg was given an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Findlay in Ohio.

A) Say True or False

1. The magic beans grew into a huge beanstalk.
2. The beanstalk reached high into the sky in the evening.
3. Everything was big in the castle.
4. The hen laid a perfect iron egg.
5. Jack picked up the giant’s hen.

B) Fill in the Blanks

1. The giant smells the blood of an Englishman.
2. Jack asked his Mom for an axe.
3. Jack chopped down the beanstalk.
4. As soon as the giant was full, he fell fast asleep.

C) Answer the Following Questions

1. Why was Jack’s mother angry?
2. Why was Jack surprised when he reached the sky?
3. What did Jack find when he reached the top?
4. What did Jack see in the castle?
5. What did the giant eat for meal?
6. Where did Jack hide when he saw the giant?
7. What did Jack intend to take when the giant fell asleep?
8. What did the hen do when Jack picked it up?
9. What did Jack do when the giant woke up?
10. Why did Jack ask for an axe?

Punctuation

Exclamation Mark	Comma	Semicolon	Colon	Full Stop
Question Mark	Dash	Apostrophe	Inverted Commas	Brackets

You may possess good language skills and know how to express yourself in the language, but without the knowledge of punctuation marks, your skills, especially written, are incomplete. A piece of writing which does not include punctuation marks is difficult to read as compared to a piece of writing which carries proper punctuation marks at the right places.

Commonly Used Punctuation Marks

1. Comma (,)

• Indicates a short pause.
• Used for:
• Words, phrases, and clauses in a series.
  • Example: Gandhiji, the Father of the Nation, died on 30th January, 1948.
• When you address a person.
  • Example: “Yes, Sir.”
• To separate numbers, dates, and addresses.
  • Example: I was born on 9th August, 1990 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh.

2. Semicolon (;)

• Represents a stronger pause than a comma.
• Used to stress the close relationship between sentences.
• Example: Today we love what tomorrow we hate; today we seek what tomorrow we shun; today we desire what tomorrow we fear.

3. Colon (:)

• Shows that something is to follow.
• Example: The principle parts of a verb in English are: the present tense, the past tense, and the past participle.

4. Full Stop (.)

• Marks the end of a declarative or imperative sentence.
• Example: Abirami, Suganya and Sudha are best friends.

5. Exclamation Mark (!)

• Used after interjections and phrases/sentences expressing sudden emotion or wish.
• Example: Alas! Oh dear!

6. Question Mark (?)

• Used after a direct question.
• Example: Have you finished writing?

7. Dash (–)

• Used to make an abrupt stop or change of thought.
• Example: He has – you may not believe it – failed.

8. Inverted Commas (“ ”)

• Enclose the exact words of a speaker or a quotation.
• Example: "I would rather die," he exclaimed, "than join the oppressors of my country."

9. Apostrophe (’)

• Indicates possession or omission of letters/numbers.
• Examples: Harry’s book; boys’ coats; can’t; he’s; 1 Jan. ’99

10. Brackets (( ) [ ] { })

• Used to enclose words or figures to separate them from the context.
• Example: MS Dhoni (the former Cricket captain) resigned from cricket.

A) Punctuate the Following Sentences

1. i like playing with my friends sandy sunny sameer
2. we went through the smoky mountains, near shimla on our way to leh
3. my favourite soap is pears and my favourite toothpaste is pepsodent
4. my friend priya speaks german and she is teaching me some words
5. he was honest sincere hard working
6. hindus muslims sikhs christians live together in india
7. long ago in a town in Switzerland there lived a famous man called william
8. akbar the greatest of the mughal emperors ruled wisely
9. tanya said to rahul is a nice guy
10. when is your birthday

B) Use the Appropriate Punctuation Mark That Completes the Sentences

Example:
Congratulations_ You graduated with honors__
Answer: Congratulations! You graduated with honors!

1. Where is the park ____
2. Make sure to complete all your homework on time___
3. Priya asked when are we going on a vacation____
4. Terry Sam and Jeremy went to the movies together____
5. WowWhat a wonderful event_
6. I am so excited to see my family on Christmas____
7. What day of the week is your favourite____
8. You need to do your homework right after dinner___
9. Please take out the trash when you get home___
10. My favourite team won the game____
11. What do you want to eat for lunch___
12. I had a great time at your party___
13. Do you know what time it is____
14. How do we get to the amusement park____
15. I can't wait to go on summer vacation___

Forms of Verb

Base Form (V1)	Past (V2)	Past Participle (V3)	Base Form (V1)	Past (V2)	Past Participle (V3)
be (is, am, are)	was, were	been	find	found	found
begin	began	begun	fly	flew	flown
bend	bent	bent	forget	forgot	forgotten
bite	bit	bitten	get	got	gotten
break	broke	broken	give	gave	given
bring	brought	brought	go	went	gone
build	built	built	have	had	had
buy	bought	bought	hear	heard	heard
catch	caught	caught	hide	hid	hidden
choose	chose	chosen	hold	held	held
come	came	come	hurt	hurt	hurt
cut	cut	cut	keep	kept	kept
dig	dug	dug	know	knew	known
do	did	done	leave	left	left
draw	drew	drawn	lend	lent	lent
drive	drove	driven	lose	lost	lost
drink	drank	drunk	make	made	made
eat	ate	eaten	meet	met	met
fall	fell	fallen	pay	paid	paid
feel	felt	felt	put	put	put
fight	fought	fought	read	read	read

(Table continues…)

Practice Practice Exercises

1. The magic beans grew into a huge beanstalk.

2. The beanstalk reached high into the sky in the evening.

3. Everything was so big in the castle.

4. The hen laid a perfect iron egg.

5. Jack picked up the Giant’s hen.

1. The Giant smells the blood of an

2. Jack asked his mom for an

3. Jack chopped down the

4. As soon as the giant was full, he fell fast

1. Why was Jack's mother angry?

2. Why was Jack surprised when he reached the sky?

3. What did Jack find when he reached the top?

4. What did Jack see in the castle?

5. What did the Giant eat for meal?

6. Where did Jack hide when he saw the Giant?

7. What did Jack intend to take when the Giant fell asleep?

8. What did the hen do when Jack picked it up?

9. What did Jack do when the Giant woke up?

10. Why did Jack ask for an axe?

1. i like playing with my friends sandy sunny sameer

2. we went through the smoky mountains, near shimla on our way to leh

3. my favourite soap is pears and my favourite toothpaste is pepsodent

4. my friend priya speaks german and she is teaching me some words

5. he was honest sincere hard working

6. hindus muslims sikhs christians live together in India

7. long ago in a town in Switzerland there lived a famous man called william

8. akbar the greatest of the mughal emperors ruled wisely

9. tanya said to rahul is a nice guy

10. when is your birthday

Example 1. Congratulations You graduated with honors

1. Where is the park

2. Make sure to complete all your homework on time

3. Priya asked when are we going on a vacation

4. Terry Sam and Jeremy went to the movies together

5. Wow What a wonderful event

6. I am so excited to see my family on Christmas

7. what day of the week is your favorite

8. You need to do your homework right after dinner

9. Please take out the trash when you get home

10. My favorite team won the game

11. What do you want to eat for lunch

12. I had a great time at your party

13. Do you know what time it is

14. How do we get to the amusement park

15. I can't wait to go on summer vacation