I am so sorry for the wait! My internet hasn't been working for the longest time! But now I'm back! And once again: Please stop reviewing my other stories about this one, especially multiple times. I get the point, and usually as you do that I'm working on it. Sorry if that was rude, but it bothered me, even after I asked you to stop. Enjoy and please review!
The three of them, Jack, Paul, and Red, ventured on through the woods. Jack led the way with Red right behind him, and Paul keeping up the rear. They kept walking all day, and Red was beginning to think that Jack was lying again. They had been walking for hours, and they still hadn't come across any beanstalks. Red was becoming increasingly irritated as the hours dragged on and as her feet dragged further into the woods.
"Are we almost there?" she asked after hours of silence.
"I'm sure we are," Jack said. "Should be any minute now,"
Red rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "If I'm walking all this way for nothing – "
"We're almost there!" Jack insisted. "I know it!"
After many more minutes, Red was about to open her mouth to protest and turn around, but then Jack stopped.
"Look! Up ahead!" he pointed. "There they are! Come on!" he grabbed Red's hand and began running through the trees. They stopped, and standing in front of them was a giant beanstalk, rising high into the sky. Red's jaw dropped. There was a whole forest of them!
"Wow!" she gasped.
"See! I told you!" Jack said, beaming proudly. He looked down at Red, who was just up to his shoulder.
"I haven't seen the land of the giants yet," Red said stubbornly, determined to put off that kiss as long as she could.
"Fine then," Jack said. "But first we've cut to chop down all the others,"
They got to work chopping down the many beanstalks that surrounded them. Jack and Red worked together to chop down each beanstalk, while Paul worked by himself. At first Red was keeping track of the amount that she and Paul cut down, but after a while, there were so many, she had lost track.
It was far past noon when they had finally run out of beanstalks to chop down, all but the one they were going to climb. They all checked the area several more times before putting away they're saws and knives. They couldn't leave any beanstalks standing, or else another giant would appear in their land.
After the secured all their bags and pouches onto themselves, they again approached the beanstalk that still remained standing.
"Well, here we go," Jack said, containing much excitement. He had been longing to return to his land of the giants for a long time. And this time, Red would see it too, and he would get a kiss from her for it. "Stay close to me, this isn't exactly easy,"
Jack started climbing first, then Red followed, then Paul. Jack climbed effortlessly, fearlessly, while Red climbed slowly and carefully. Truthfully, she was rather afraid of heights, and the longer they climbed, the higher and higher they got. She kept telling herself not to look down, but it was nearly impossible, as she never knew where to place her feet. Several times she lost her footing and screamed, but Paul had always caught her.
The first time Red had nearly fallen to her death, that was when Paul realized this was far too dangerous for an eleven year old girl. It was even too dangerous for a thirteen year old boy. Yet here he was, putting both children in danger for his own needs. But it was to bring his wife back. Surely if they knew they would understand…
Even still he felt guilt for putting Red through this; she was clearly terrified of heights. Every time she fell, Paul's heart leapt into his throat and he reached up and stopped her from falling. She continued climbing, both their hearts pounding.
After what seemed like years of climbing, they had finally reached the clouds. It was becoming harder to see, which made Red cling tighter to the beanstalk. If she fell, Paul might not be able to see clearly enough to catch her.
"Should be there any minute now!" Jack called down to them.
The moisture that was in the clouds clung to all of them, making it feel as though they had just jumped into a lake. And that meant that Red's hands were wet and slippery. She began shaking with terror. She suddenly stopped climbing and froze, wrapping her arms and legs around the beanstalk.
"Y-y-you…um…go ahead without me…" she said, shaking uncontrollably. "I-I'll wait here…"
"What do you mean?" Jack said. "We're almost there!"
"I-I-I can't go any f-further," she chattered. "I'm wet, I'm going to fall!" her voice rose in panic.
Jack climbed down until he was right above Red. "Take my hand," he said. "I won't let you fall,"
Red looked back and forth from Jack's hand to the part of the beanstalk that she desperately was clinging to. She slowly took a shaking hand off the stalk and put it in Jack's hand. Jack smiled and slowly continued climbing, guiding Red the whole way.
"Here we are!" Jack said. Red was puzzled: how on earth could he see where they were? All she could see was fog. She couldn't see more than five inches ahead of her. Jack let go of her hand, and she gasped, clinging once again to the stalk. Jack hoisted himself upward then reached down and grabbed Red's hands. He started to pull her up, and Red squeezed her eyes shut as she released the stalk with her legs. She was now freely dangling, at the mercy of Jack's hands that held her thousands of feet off the ground. For several terrifying seconds that seemed like years, she was just hanging there, and then she was standing on something solid, with Jack's face merely inches away from hers.
"See? Told ya I wouldn't let you fall," Jack smiled, his eyes falling on hers.
Red blushed. "Thanks,"
Paul then appeared behind them, and Red broke eye contact with Jack to turn around and watch Paul. When they were all standing together, Jack started walking, and the rest followed.
"Here it is!" Jack said.
Paul and Red dropped their jaws. Standing before them was an enormous house.
"We've got to go inside if we want to get the gold," Jack said. "Follow me,"
Paul and Red followed Jack as he started to walk around the giant house in attempt to find a door. In their search, they came across an enormous fence. They squeezed under the fence and they all gasped. They had just entered a giant garden.
"It's so beautiful!" Red said, smiling.
"Isn't it?" Jack said. "Come on, we've got to get the gold and get out of here before dark,"
Red and Paul continued following Jack around the garden, and Paul kept his eye out for the berries.
"Look there's a door we could slip under!" Jack took Red's hand and began running toward it. Paul ran in the other direction, determined to find those berries. He looked up and down, this way and that, until he found just what he was looking for. He found the purple berries that were about the size of his head. He picked three or four of the juiciest looking ones and put them into the large empty bag he had brought. Just then, he heard a high pitched scream and a large thud. He set off running for the house.
"Red? Jack?" He said nervously, praying that they didn't get crushed. Then he saw Jack running out of the house underneath the door, dragging Red with him by the hand.
"Paul hurry!" Jack called. "We've go to get out of here!"
Jack and Red were both carrying bulky bags on their backs that jingled as they bounced while they ran. Paul ran and caught up to the two of them, and then the giant door swung open and a big, tall, terrible, giant appeared and began running after them.
"Faster!" Red shrieked as she saw the giant approaching them.
"How will we get down there in time?" Paul asked.
"You two keep running; I've got an idea!" Jack ran in a different direction and Paul grabbed Red's hand. They kept running toward the beanstalk, and there was a burning sensation rising in Red's chest as she panted and tried to keep up with Paul. They had reached the beanstalk, but Jack hadn't come back yet, so they turned around and ran in a different direction. The giant was getting closer and closer, and Red's head was getting lighter and lighter. She could hardly breathe anymore.
When they headed back in the direction of the beanstalk, they could see a giant basket in the distance, and Jack was tying rope to it. They kept running until they reached the beanstalk.
"Get into the basket, quick!" Paul hoisted himself in and Jack lifted Red in. Jack threw in the bags he was carrying. The giant was dangerously close. "I'm going to distract the giant while you two go down. I've tied the rope to the house, so the basket should stop before it hits the ground,"
"Should?" Paul asked his heart leaping with worry.
"Hold on!" Jack said without acknowledging Paul had said anything. Red wrapped her arms around a piece of the giant basket. Jack pushed on the basket with all his might and it went shooting down towards the ground. Paul threw himself down and did as Red did.
The giant basket was flying through the air hurtling towards the ground. Red was shrieking and screaming, and Paul couldn't help but scream either. The wind whipped around them, and one of the bags tumbled out of the basket. Paul was grateful the bag of berries was secured on his back.
They had been falling for about a minute now, and it wouldn't be very long before the rope ran out, or hit the ground.
They squeezed their eyes shut and held the basket tighter than ever as they braced for impact.
But instead of the basket crashing into the ground as they both thought would happen, they felt a sudden jolt, and the basket hurled upward. Red shrieked louder than ever, then the basket hurled back down, then back up, then back down, and it continued to do so until it had started swinging back and forth.
Paul sat up, and he sighed in relief; the rope was short enough to stop them from hitting the ground. Red was still screaming and holding onto the basket.
"It's alright, we've stopped falling," he said over her screams. She stifled her shrieking and began panting shakily. She lifted her head and looked around, feeling the swaying motion. She stayed frozen in that position until the basket stopped swaying. She then sat up very slowly, still panting. She looked at Paul, who was also very still, most likely still in shock like Red was.
The world was slowly coming back to Red, and she suddenly realized something. Jack had not gotten in the basket with them. She frantically looked around her. "Where's Jack?"
Paul snapped back to reality at this.
"Where is he?" Red repeated.
"I-I-I don't know…" Paul said, trying to remember everything that had happened before they had started tumbling back to the earth.
"He didn't get in the basket!" Red said. "Where is he?"
"He…he was distracting the giant," Paul remembered. "But he didn't say how he was getting down…"
"Oh no!" Red cried. "He's stranded! The giant is going to kill him!" Red burst into tears. Paul went to her and held the crying girl in his arms.
"It's alright…I'm sure he's fine…" But deep down, he knew things looked bleak for the boy…
It's all my fault…I had to get them involved…it's all my fault…
Paul began shaking. He held Red tighter in attempt to hide his uncontrollable shaking. Just then, something caught Paul's ear.
"Wahoo!"
Paul looked up and squinted to see what it was. Something was sliding down the rope that was attached to the basket. Red looked up as well and gasped.
"Jack?"
Sure enough, Jack came tumbling into the basket, causing it to sway slightly again.
"Jack!" Red cried. She crawled as fast as she could toward him and threw her arms around him. "You're alright! You're alright!"
"Of course I am!" Jack said, returning her embrace. "You thought I couldn't handle a little thing like a giant?"
"A little thing?" Red said. "It was, well, giant!"
Paul let out a laugh. "Whatever happened to the giant?"
"I tricked it, and now it's got string wrapped around its ankles. It gave me enough time to get away, and now we'll have enough time to chop down the beanstalk!"
"You're brilliant!" Red exclaimed. Jack beamed brighter than he ever had. Little Red Riding Hood just called him brilliant.
Paul got up and climbed to the top of the basket to see how far off the ground they were. Much to his relief, they seemed only a few yards high. Red took the rope out of her bag and Paul tied it to the top of the basket. Red got on Paul's back and Paul climbed down, and Jack climbed down after them. When they were once again standing on solid ground, their legs felt like jelly, especially Red. She fell right over as soon as her feet touched the ground. Jack sat down next to her and took Red's bag off of her back.
"We lost the other one," Red said. "It fell right out on our way down,"
"That's alright," Jack said. "We've got enough in this one,"
He dumped out the contents of the bag, and out of it poured a variety of shimmering silver and gold objects.
"Wow!" Red said.
"We're going to be rich!" Jack said. "Look at it Paul!"
Paul had to admit, it was quite a lot, and it would make them quite wealthy.
"What's in your bag, Paul?" Red asked.
"What? Oh, nothing," Paul said quickly. "Look, we'd better chop down this beanstalk and head home, the sun is starting to set,"
Red and Jack cleaned up the gold and silver and Jack put the bag on his back. The three of them cut down the beanstalk and watched it come crashing down. Then they turned to the basket.
"What do we do with this?" Red asked.
"Well we've got to get rid of the rope, because the giant could climb down," Jack said.
"But how?"
"I'll just climb a really tall tree, and cut it short enough so that if the giant does go down the rope, it'll fall,"
Paul and Red nodded in approval and watched him do so. By the time he returned, the sun was gone and the moon glowed in the starry sky. Paul and Red had already lit three lanterns.
They all began to head home, and that was when they began to feel all of the bumps and bruises they had gotten along the way. The left side of Red's face and her left arm were scratched up from clinging to the basket, as was the right side of Paul's face and his right arm. Red and Jack had lumps on their heads from falling over when the giant nearly stomped on them. Jack had bruises and scratches all over the place from distracting the giant. And Red had gotten several more bruises from being thrown around in the basket, along with Paul. Paul's stomach churned as he thought about what Cinderella would say about all these injuries.
Jack had been looking forward to telling Paul all about his and Red's adventure in the house, but he had found himself much too tired and worn out, and as he had not expected, in much pain.
The hours dragged on and on, much longer than they had before. Red thought she might fall asleep while she was walking. It must have been at least midnight when they finally emerged from the woods and approached the town. All of their bones aching, they hurried towards their house, ready to drop into their beds.