Episode 12

Jack walked around the stem three times feeling the smooth green cover. He hung from the lower branch testing its strength. He was staring up through the branches when Red came out.

She handed Jack a small back-pack. “Are you ready? It’s going to be a long climb because the top branches disappear in the clouds. She stepped on the lowest branch and began climbing around the spiral stem. She was ten feet up before Jack shouldered his back-pack and began climbing.

A half an hour later Jack glanced up at Red Ridinghood who was at least thirty feet above and climbing easily. “Stop, wait for me.” His voice punctuated with heavy breathing. “Let’s take a break. I need a drink of water and a bite to eat.”

Red climbed another hundred feet and reached the bottom layer of clouds. She straddled a branch with her back against the beanstalk. Occasionally a cloud would make her nearly invisible from below. “Come on up. The view is beautiful.”

Jack collapsed on a branch one foot below Red. It took him a minute to get his breathing under control to permit easy talking. He parted some of the branches and looked out. “It is beautiful. I see Snow White’s home over there. Look, there’s your grandmother’s cottage.” He opened his knap-sack and took out a sandwich. “I don’t think I want a beer right now. I’ll save it for later.” He looked upward along the beanstalk. “I wonder how much further we have to climb?”

“Not too much farther. Maybe a few hundred feet. The beanstalk is getting smaller so we’ll soon be at the top.” She took out her sandwich and began eating.

A distant rumbling came from above. A few seconds later, a closer rumbling came down. A turkey dropped through the clouds and began a long glide to the surface. Next came a guinea followed by a quacking duck. Both spread their wings and began gliding.