# Nitpicks in Fairy tales

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicks-in-fairy-tales/363857>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [July 10, 2006, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicks-in-fairy-tales/363857 "2006-07-10T13:00:18Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![blinkingblinking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ea5d25/32.png) [@blinkingblinking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blinkingblinking)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicks-in-fairy-tales/363857/1 "2006-07-10T13:00:18Z")

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I suppose most of us are young when we hear these. I do not have nitpicks about fairy tales in general.  
But, as for ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. Who was that guy with the magic beans? He was the world’s worst con-man. He cons Jack out of the cow with beans. But the beans are magic. Who was he? What was he doing?  
This adaptation [Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story (TV Mini Series 2001) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0264262/)  
tries to give an answer.

Yes, I know it is just a fairy tale. But this nitpick has bothered me from when I was small ( only when I hear the story. I am not obsessed with it.)

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**Author:** ![Pleonast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pleonast/32/1183_2.png) [@Pleonast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pleonast)\
**Post date:** [July 10, 2006, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nitpicks-in-fairy-tales/363857/2 "2006-07-10T14:53:58Z")

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Con man? I always understood the beanmonger to be a down-on-his-luck magician/fairy. There was no intent to cheat Jack; they made a fair bargain. The problem was Jack’s mom didn’t appreciate the beans’ value.