Billy and the Beanstalk

“All right, Billy,” Mother said. “You can spend the evening with Dan.” She looked very serious. “But, Billy, you know that Dan’s parents are not living for the Lord.” She looked quietly at her little boy. “What will you do if Dan wants to watch television or movies?”

Billy looked at Mother. “I won’t watch them,” he announced. “I’ll call you to come get me.”

Dan had a big backyard, and the boys played with his rabbits until supper. “Let’s watch TV!” said Dan after they ate.

“Let’s have your mother read us a book,” Billy said quickly.

“Okay!” Dan shouted. “Mom! Could you read to us?”

“Sure,” said Dan’s mom; and she was a good reader. Billy had never heard the story before, and she read so that you could almost see things happening!

The story was about a very smart boy named Jack. At first, he didn’t seem so smart, because he traded his mother’s cow for a bean! Dan’s mom made lonesome mooing noises as the cow was taken away. Then she made the mother shout at Jack in such a loud, angry voice that Billy jumped and was almost scared. Jack’s mother must not be saved, Billy thought. Nobody could live for the Lord and act like that!

But Dan was laughing. “Boy, his mother was dumb!” he said. “Just wait!” Billy didn’t like that either. He kept thinking how his mother didn’t act like that, because she was living for Jesus. If she were disappointed in what he did, she would pray with him and ask Jesus to help him do right. Besides, the Bible said to honor your father and mother.

Then, in the story, the bean began to grow. Jack planted it in the ground, and in one night, it grew up, up, up…. Dan’s mom climbed on top of the chair, then the table, and she slapped her hand on the ceiling to show how the bean kept growing. Dan’s daddy came in and he laughed very hard.

Billy remembered how long he had to wait for beans to come up in the garden. This was ridiculous! Then, in the story, Jack began to climb up this bean plant—up beyond the clouds to where a giant lived in a palace! This giant had all sorts of amazing, strange things. He said horrible things, too. And then the boy, Jack, began to steal things from the giant.

Billy had been feeling more and more disgusted, but when the boy in the story began to steal things, Billy jumped up. “That’s stealing!” he cried, “that’s wrong!”

Dan stared at Billy. His mom stared at Billy, and even his daddy looked surprised.

“Don’t you know stealing is wrong?” Billy said. “God won’t be happy with Jack, unless he takes everything back to the giant and tells him that he’s sorry!” Billy looked around and saw that they were all looking at the floor. Finally, Dan’s mom shrugged and shut the book.

Billy was right, wasn’t he? Stealing is wrong, whether it happens in a story or for real. Wrong is wrong, and right is right. And Billy wanted to do what was right all of the time, whether he was at home or not at home.