The Magic Bean

2023 3rd & 4th Grade Prose Honorable Mention

I was walking to my school to donate some books. My school was part of a book drive called
Project Cicero, and the books I was donating would go to under-resourced schools in New York
City. When I reached the school, I took out my favorite book, “The Magic Bean,” to take a last
look. Suddenly, the book started glowing, and a small bean popped out, whose skin was green
and had a curved shape. I put the bean in my pocket, quickly donated the books, and walked to
a public garden. I decided to plant the bean. Almost immediately after I put it into the soil, the
ground started shaking and a giant beanstalk sprouted from the ground!

“Woah! That’s amazing!” I exclaimed.

Out of curiosity, I climbed up the beanstalk to see what was above. When I reached the clouds,
I leaped off. To my surprise, I didn’t fall through the clouds! Then, out of nowhere, an ogre
came trudging in my direction.

Trying to be friendly, I said cheerfully,” Hello, Mr. Ogre. Nice day, right?”

“I do not care about the weather! I want to eat you!” shouted the ogre.

I almost started running away, but I stopped myself. Running away wouldn’t work, because the
ogre was fifty times as big as me. He would catch up to me in no time. Suddenly, the beanstalk
started glowing, and a sword popped out of it! I stared at it in wonder. There was a ruby
planted in its handle, and there were symbols in the blade. Once I got out of my shock, I raised
the sword, just in time to block a blow from the ogre’s club! I swung the sword at the ogre, and
he easily parried my blow with his club.

The ogre charged toward me, waving his club in the air and yelling,” Why won’t you die!?”

I slid under him and stabbed my sword into his backside.

“Noooooo....” he moaned as he disintegrated into ashes.

I wiped my sword on the ogre’s shirt, and looked around. There were holes in the clouds, so I
had to be careful not to fall through them. As I peered into the distance, I could see a castle! It
was colored dark, and had four turrets with pointy tops in a square array. I couldn’t see any
guard at the gate, and nobody could be seen at the windows either.

“Let’s hope the people are friendly.” I muttered as I headed toward the castle.

It turned out that the castle seemed to be abandoned. Everywhere I looked, there would be
dust and cobwebs, with no sign of any people living there. I explored it, holding my sword up in
case something attacked me. As I looked around in a bedroom, I spotted a chest lying in a
corner. I cautiously opened it, and what was inside surprised me. There were emeralds, rubies,
sapphires, diamonds, and of course, gold. I awkwardly carried the chest out of the castle, and to
the beanstalk, taking many breaks along the way. I climbed down the beanstalk with the chest,
and pushed it all the way to my home. I knocked on the door, and Mom answered it. Her mouth
dropped when she saw all the treasure.

“Where did you get all that gold?” she asked me, still in shock.

“It’s a long story,” I replied, smiling.

I showed my dad and little sister, and they were really surprised, especially Sister.

“Now, we are rich! Hooray!” exclaimed Sister.

“This is worth so much money! How are we going to spend it all?” Dad asked.

“Maybe we should donate it to charity.” suggested Mom.

As I left my family to deal with the treasure, I trudged upstairs to take a rest. Today’s adventure
tired me out, especially carrying the chest. As I entered my room, I could hear my family
discussing how to donate the money. I heard Sister saying that we should use the treasure to
buy toys and books for immigrant kids who just arrived at New York. I closed my door and dove
into bed. The adventure was amazing, and I wondered what adventure would come next as I
closed my eyes.