Jack and the Beanstalk

"How about this one?" you ask Doe.

Doe frowns. "Jack and the Beanstalk?" she says. She looks at you. "All the heroism going to your head, John?" she asks. She takes a breath and counts on her fingers. "One. Cloud-high vertical beanstalk. Two. Man-eating giant. Fee Fie Fo Fum. I'll grind his bones. Three. Talking harp, known to be a squealer."

You tilt your head. "Four, lonely giantess with a weakness for befriending little interlopers," you say. "Five, lonely mother grateful to see her son safely home?"

Doe rolls her eyes. "We're in this to save the world's happiness, John," she says. She clears her throat. "Think you're good with an axe? And Rafe will probably have his own Interloper there, remember?" She pauses. "So. This one, John?"

"Wait, let me see where it's torn out..." you say. You turn the pages, flipping through. Jack has climbed the beanstalk and befriended the giantess, who hides him from her husband. But before he can return home or steal the giant's gold, the story is torn away. "Huh," you say. "He got up to the castle and charmed the giant's wife into hiding him from her husband, but that's as far as it goes."

"What do you think?" Doe says. Hesitantly, she extends her hand. "Put your hand on mine if you're sure."