Brooklyn and her mom Stephanie lived in a tiny cottage at the edge of the kingdom.
The roof had holes in it. The cupboards were empty. They had no money left at all.
They had sold almost everything they owned.
The chairs were gone. The good plates were gone. The warm blankets were gone.
All they had left was Brooklyn's most treasured thing in the whole world: her favorite LOL doll.
One morning, Stephanie sat down with a sad face.
"Brooklyn," she said, "we have no food and no money. We must sell the doll at the market."
Brooklyn held the doll tight. But she could see how worried her mom was. She put on her shoes.
On the road to the market, Brooklyn met an old woman sitting on a stone wall.
The old woman held out her hand. In it were five small beans. They glimmered and shook, all on their own.
"I will trade you," said the old woman. "My magic beans for your doll."
Brooklyn looked at the beans. Then she looked at the old woman.
"Hang on," said Brooklyn. "Let's make a deal. Are these beans really magic?"
"They are the most magic beans in all the kingdom," said the old woman. "You will see."
Brooklyn gave her the doll and took the beans.
When Brooklyn got home, Stephanie looked at the beans.
Her face went from sad to confused to very, very angry.
"You traded our last precious thing for beans?" she said.
She took the beans and threw them straight out the window. She sent Brooklyn to bed without any supper.
Brooklyn lay in bed and looked at the ceiling. She felt terrible.
But in the night, something happened outside.
The ground rumbled. The walls shook. A great cracking and pushing sound filled the dark.
By morning, a beanstalk as tall as the sky had grown up right outside their cottage.
Brooklyn looked up. She could not see the top.
She grabbed a branch and started to climb.
She climbed and climbed for a long time. Then she stepped off onto a cloud, and there was a kingdom.
It had tall white towers and wide stone roads and golden light everywhere.
A small fairy flew up to Brooklyn and stopped right in front of her nose.
"You must be careful," said the fairy. "A giant lives here. He is very big and very mean. He does not like children."
Before Brooklyn could say anything, the ground began to shake.
A voice came rolling through the kingdom like a wave.
"Fee-fi-fo-fum. I smell a child. Here I come."
Then Brooklyn smelled something terrible. It was strong and sharp and it filled her whole nose.
It was cheese. The giant smelled of the worst cheese in the world.
Brooklyn pressed herself behind a large stone pillar. She could hardly breathe from the smell.
The giant stomped past. He sat down at a great table and opened a huge chest.
Inside the chest were more gold coins than Brooklyn had ever seen. He counted them slowly, one by one. Then he fell asleep.
Brooklyn waited until the snoring was very loud.
Then she crept to the table. She grabbed a big sack of gold coins.
She ran to the beanstalk and climbed down as fast as she could.
Stephanie stared at the gold coins spread across the floor.
They bought food, and warm blankets, and fixed the holes in the roof.
But after some weeks, Brooklyn thought about the sky kingdom again.
She climbed the beanstalk a second time.
This time, she found a little hen sitting in a nest in the giant's kitchen.
As Brooklyn watched, the hen laid an egg. The egg was made of solid gold.
Brooklyn crossed her arms and looked at the hen. "I am taking you home," she said. The hen did not argue.
Brooklyn tucked the hen under her arm and walked to the beanstalk.
Stephanie told her firmly that she must never go back.
"Hang on," said Brooklyn. "Let's make a deal." But Stephanie said no deal, and no was no.
Brooklyn waited three whole days. Then she climbed up again.
This time she found a small ukulele hanging on the wall.
It began to play a song all by itself, a bright and happy song that filled the whole room.
Brooklyn reached up and lifted it off the wall.
The ukulele played louder. And louder. And louder still.
The giant woke up with a roar.
He saw Brooklyn. His eyes went wide and his face went red.
Brooklyn ran. The giant's boots hit the floor like boulders behind her.
She reached the beanstalk and went down faster than she had ever gone.
"Mom!" Brooklyn shouted as she came flying off the last branch. "The axe! Right now!"
Stephanie did not ask questions. She picked up the axe.
She swung it once. She swung it twice.
On the third swing, the beanstalk came down. The giant fell with it, all the way from the clouds, and he never got up again.
Brooklyn and Stephanie stood very still for a moment.
Then Stephanie put down the axe and held Brooklyn close.
The ukulele played a soft, gentle song in Brooklyn's arms.
After that, their lives were very different.
The hen laid a golden egg every single day. They had more than enough.
Every Friday night, they had sushi for dinner, and the little ukulele played while they ate.
Brooklyn sat across from her mom and smiled. It was, she thought, a very good deal.
The end