Scene Five
[The curtains are closed. The narrator walks on stage, lit by a spotlight.]
Narrator:
Folks, for our final scenario, we are going to see the two stories of Jack and the Beanstalk and A Christmas Carol collide. We will also see a boy learn a lesson of truth and be changed forever.
[The curtains open. The narrator snaps his fingers, and the lights turn on to reveal a house with a beanstalk by it. When turned around, it is the giant’s house, but now it is Jack’s house. The narrator walks off stage. Jack and his mother enter.]
Mother:
Oh Jack! [Gives him a big hug.] I don’t know how to thank you for the harp, or the hen that lays golden eggs, or any of the stuff you got! We’ll never go hungry again. Perhaps this will be the best Christmas ever! [Hugs Jack again and walks off stage.]
[Jack lays in bed and falls asleep. Milky-white – Jack’s cow that he sold for the beans – creeps on stage and puts a cowbell to Jack’s ear. When she rings it, Jack yelps in surprise.]
Jack:
Huh?! Who? What? [Sees Milky-white.] Oh, hi, Milky-white. [Confused] I thought I sold you to that farmer for those magical beans.
Milky-white:[Irritated] Yeah…I’m here to talk to you about that.
Jack:Hey! Don’t go blaming this on me! It’s not my fault you stopped giving us milk! And I…


Milky-white:[Interrupting] I’m not here about that! But I wasn’t very happy you sold me for a couple lousy beans…
Jack:Lousy beans! They brought all the wealth and happiness our family needed.
Milky-white:I don’t think you understand, Jack. You’ve messed up! You should have never traded me for those beans. You could have at least gotten some money or food instead!
Jack:[Angry and confused] How have I messed up?
Milky-white:You’ll see. Three fairy tale creatures will visit you tonight. Expect the fairy tale creature of the past, then present, then future.
Jack:[Yawns] Do we really have to do it tonight?
Milky-white:Well, tomorrow’s Christmas. Besides kids never get any sleep Christmas Eve. I’m sure you won’t mind if I take a few hours away from your sleep. See you around midnight. [A smoke machine turns on and Milky-white vanishes.]
Jack:[Dazed] What? Where’d she go? [Yawning again] Aww forget it! I must be dreaming. [Gets in bed and goes back to sleep.]
[Tinkerbell walks on stage with a loud horn. She puts it to Jack’s ear and rings it loudly.]
Jack:[Waking up startled] Huh? Who are you?
Tinkerbell:I’m the fairy tale creature of the past. Let’s go…
Jack:Go where?
Tinkerbell:To the past, of course. We have a lot of trips to make, and a short time to make them. [Grabs Jack’s hand; they run off stage.]
[The lights dim. Young Jack and his mother walk on stage and freeze. As soon as Tinkerbell and Jack walk on stage, the other two unfreeze. The lights turn brighten.]
Jack:[Points to little Jack.] Hey, that’s me two years ago. I remember Christmas was rough because we couldn’t afford a whole lot. I want to see what my past person thinks of me being here. [Jack waves to little Jack, but little Jack doesn’t seem to notice. Jack turns to Tinkerbell.] Why can’t he see me?
Tinkerbell:Shhh! Be quiet.
Mother:Jack, what are we going to do? A famine’s struck the land, and our crops have gone dead! And Milky-white won’t give us milk any more. [Begins to cry.] We are going to starve if a miracle doesn’t happen soon! Perhaps this will be the worst Christmas ever.
Little Jack:Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll sell Milky-white at the marketplace. That will give us some money to last on for a little while. We won’t starve during Christmas.
Mother:Well, I suppose so. [Walks off stage with Little Jack.]
Jack:Boy, oh boy! [Self-righteously] And Milky-white said I made a bad decision buying those beans. Look at my family, we were at the pit of despair, and she said I made the wrong decision. Well, I…
Tinkerbell:[Annoyed] Listen, I know that it seemed like the right thing to do, but I bet you didn’t know that your Uncle Max was in town.
Jack:Huh?
Tinkerbell:That’s right. Your rich uncle was in town. If you had been paying attention to what goes on in town, your uncle would have helped your family.
Jack:[Trying to think this through] Well, I guess so. But I don’t see why planting those beans was a bad decision. After all, look what we got as a result!
Tinkerbell:You’ll see. We have a couple more stops before I leave. [Grabs his hand again; they run off stage.]
[Scene moves towards the giant’s house. Young Jack is frozen on the beanstalk near the house. As soon as Tinkerbell and Jack get on stage, young Jack unfreezes and finishes climbing.]
Young Jack:[Approaching house] Wow! I can’t believe this! When that man said magical beans, he meant magical beans! And to think Mom took away my supper for this! [Sneaks in the house, where Mrs. Giant is.]
Mrs. Giant:[Sees Jack.] Well, how do you do? [Jack is startled.] There’s no need to be afraid of me! Here’s some pot roast from the oven. I’m baking it for a Christmas Eve dish. [Gives Jack a piece. He begins to eat.]
Mr. Giant:[Walks on stage, holding a hen.] Fee Fi Fo Fum! [Approaches house.]
Mrs. Giant:Oh dear! That’s my husband! He’s gotten back from his blacksmithing job, and he sounds very cranky because they made him work on Christmas Eve. Hurry, hide somewhere! [Jack hides under a table.]
Mr. Giant:[To Mrs. Giant] Here is our new hen. She lays one golden egg a day. She will bring fortune to our family when I can no longer work. And hopefully she won’t be as cheap as my boss.
Mrs. Giant:[Grabs the hen.] Thank you, sweetie. Now we won’t have to worry about you losing your job. Speaking of work, you must have had a long day. You look very tired. Here, let’s take you upstairs for some sleep. Christmas is tomorrow and our son Joseph is more excited than ever.
[Mrs. Giant puts the hen down and walks off stage. Little Jack jumps out from under the table, quickly grabs the hen, and gets an impish look on his face. The lights dim and a spotlight goes on Jack and Tinkerbell.]
Jack:So I took something from their house. It’s not like they needed it.
Tinkerbell:You didn’t just something. You took their security.
Jack:Yes, but they were giants.
Tinkerbell:[Frustrated] That’s not all you did.
[Spotlight dims. Stage lights come up. Young Jack is hiding in the cupboard with the hen. Mr. Giant is sleeping.]
Harp:Master, are you asleep? Perhaps a little lullaby will sooth your dreams. [Begins to sing. Spots Jack and screams.] Master! A thief, a thief!
[Young Jack grabs the harp and, with the hen, heads for the beanstalk. The giant, stumbling, tries to follow. When he reaches the beanstalk, there is a chopping sound, and then Mr. Giant falls off stage. There is a crashing sound. Lights dim. A spotlight shines on Tinkerbell and Jack.]
Tinkerbell:
[Pointing] Did you see?
Jack:Did I see what?
Tinkerbell:[Gives an annoyed sigh] The giant falling and breaking his neck is why I’m here.
Jack:What’s so bad about a giant breaking his neck? It’s his fault he went after me.
Tinkerbell:Ugh! Obviously you’ve learned nothing from me! Maybe you’ll learn something more from the fairy tale creature of the present.
[Storms off.]
[Jack gets back in bed. As soon as he closes his eyes, Genie appears on stage.]
Jack:[Waking up] Whoa! Who are you?
Genie:Well, normally, I’m a genie. But Aladdin has been getting on my nerves lately. So, I applied for the fairy tale creature of the present. My job is to show little boys what’s going on in the present and how they can fix it.
Jack:I already know everything that’s going on in the present. What more is there to learn? If you’re here to show me what I already know, you might as well leave. [Tries to shoo Genie off stage.]
Genie:[Laughs] Listen, kid. A lot of things are happening that you know nothing about?
Jack:Like what?
Genie:Oh, you’ll see. (Grabs Jack’s hand; both exit.]
[Scene moves to Giant’s house. Mr. Giant (wearing a neck collar), Mrs. Giant, and Joseph Giant are on stage. They are frozen until Genie and Jack come back on stage.]
Joseph:[Whining] Oh, Mom. Please tell me there’s something in the pantry. I’m starving, and I don’t want to go to the streets and beg for food again. It’s Christmas.
Jack:[Confused] Starving? But when I came, they were filthy rich!
Genie:The good news is that Mr. Giant survived his fall. But he broke his neck and never recovered fully! He used to be a blacksmith, but now he can’t do any job.
Jack:Wow! I didn’t know how dependent families were on their jobs.
Genie:Don’t you remember? Your family used to be farmers. When there was a famine in the land, you depended on Milky-white. But eventually she couldn’t give any milk.
Jack:Well, I see now…
Mrs. Giant:[Checking the pantry] Joseph, there is a can of beans we can all share for dinner. It’s a little Christmas treat. [Joseph eagerly walks over as he grabs two bowls of beans from his mom and takes one over to his dad.]
Mrs. Giant:[Examining her husband’s neck] It seems to be getting worse…
Mr. Giant:[Groans] Do we have any money for me to see a doctor?
Mrs. Giant:[Sighing] Not even enough to buy you a decent collar. [All the giants sigh.]
Joseph:Are we going to live like this for the rest of our lives, Mom?
Mrs. Giant:[Burying her head into her hands] I don’t know…I don’t know. But let’s not worry today because it is Christmas. [Giants exit. Lights dim. Spotlight shines on Jack and Genie.]
Jack:Wait a minute! This isn’t what I wanted to happen! Please tell me this isn’t true.
Genie:Now, I’m not Pinocchio, but I can’t tell a lie. There is one more fairy tale creature that will visit you. Hoped ya learned something, kid.
[Genie walks off. Cheshire Cat walks on.]
Jack:Lemme guess: You’re the fairy tale creature of the future. Hey! Are you the Cheshire Cat? [Cat doesn’t say anything. He grabs Jack and takes him off stage.]
[Scene moves to the giants’ house. It is now run down, and the giants don’t live in it anymore. There is the contract on the ground. Jack picks it up.]
Jack:[Reading] “Dear Giants, We regret to inform you that you no longer own this house. You have not paid your bills for five years. All your belongings will be sold to pay off the bills. Signed, The Mayor of Giantville.” This is all my fault, isn’t it? Oh! Now there’s nowhere out of this. It’s all my fault. Three innocent giants are going to be homeless because Mr. Giant broke his neck.
Cheshire Cat:Remember, this is a possible future.
Jack:{Brightening] You mean, I can change this fate? It doesn’t have to be like this?
Cheshire cat:[Grinning] If you choose it to be.
[The fog machine turns on, and the Cheshire cat is gone. The lights dim. Jack gets under the covers of his bed. Lights come up.]
Jack:[Waking up] Where am I? Was it a dream? It was! It was all a dream! I’m going to help those giants. I’m going to give back what I took, and I’m going to help Mr. Giant recover from his injury. And I’ll make sure this is the best Christmas they’ll ever have! [Runs off stage. Lights dim.]
[The scene moves to the giants’ house. The hen and harp are there. The pantry is filled with food. There is money on the kitchen table. Joseph enters from off stage.]
Joseph:[Filled with joy] Oh Mom, Dad! Come see what a miraculous thing has happened! It’s truly a Christmas miracle.
[Mrs. Giant runs in, then retreats and helps Mr. Giant over. They survey the room.]
Mrs. Giant:
Who did this?
Mr. Giant:I don’t know, but with the money and the hen we have enough for me to get proper medical treatment and start working again! And we can cook a feast with all this food. We’ll never go hungry again!
Joseph Giant:God bless us, every one! [Hugs his parents. Lights go out.]

THE END