Once upon a time, in a far-off kingdom, there lived a young boy named Inojin Yamanaka. He and his mother Ino were farmers, but during these difficult times, they hardly had enough food and money for themselves. Eventually, they were in terrible debt and they couldn't afford anything anymore. Times were so hard that the former kunoichi and her son only had two things left. A small farmhouse that was in desperate need of repairs and one old white cow that was already out of milk. On the day Ino and Inojin finished the last of their food, she turned to look at her son with a concerned expression on her face.
"Inojin, can you do me a big favor?" Ino asked.
"Sure, Mother. What is it you want me to do?" Inojin said, looking up at his mother with a smile.
"I need you to go to the market with our cow and sell her for as much as you can."
"Sell our cow?!"
"Yes, we need the money."
"But...why?"
"Because if we don't, we'll have nothing. We'll be thrown out into the streets, and we'll be left to starve. Do you understand? I blame your father for getting us in this mess."
Inojin thought about his mother's request. He quickly realized the seriousness of the situation and he let out a sigh.
"Yeah, I understand. I'll try to sell the cow," Inojin said, nodding his head and smirking.
"That's my boy. Believe me, it's for the best," Ino said, smiling and giving her son a small peck on the forehead. "Now remember, when you make it to the market, accept no less than ten million ryo for her. And don't get distracted or stop for anything on your way there. Got it?"
"Got it. Bye, Mother."
"Bye, Son. See you later."
So with the cow in tow, Inojin made his way along the trodden path toward the market in town. But after half an hour of walking, he came across a rather strange surprise.
"Oh, hi there. If I'm not mistaken, you must be...Inojin, right?" A mysterious cloaked stranger said with a friendly smile as he approached Inojin.
"Uh, yeah. I'm Inojin. How do you know my name? Who are you?" Inojin asked nervously.
"That's not important. I was just wondering where you're going."
"Oh, I'm just on my way to the market to sell my cow. No less than ten million ryo."
"You don't say. Well, don't worry. I've got something that will magically erase all of your debt. Trust me," The stranger said.
"What are you talking about?" Inojin asked, sounding intrigued.
The man rummaged through the pockets of his ragged cloak and he showed the boy three edamames. Inojin winced, confused and angry.
"Edamames? That's it? What kind of an idiot do you think I am? I can't accept these," Inojin ranted, pushing the man's hand away.
"No, no, no. You don't understand. These edamames contain a powerful magic," he replied.
"Magic? What kind of magic?"
"Magic at its finest. Defies all descriptions too. These beans hold power beyond anything you could ever imagine. And maybe, just maybe, they just might be able to help you. So what do you say? Do we have a deal?"
"Are you sure you're telling me the truth? Because if you're lying..."
"Of course, I'm telling you the truth. Do I look like a person who would lie to you?"
"Well..."
Inojin looked at the man's outstretched hand, waiting to be shaken. He was very hesitant about taking the edamames in exchange for his cow, but he knew how his mother would react if he came back empty-handed. So he took the stranger's hand and said with a smile.
"Agreed."
So the man took the cow and Inojin took the three edamames. Before another word could be said, the mysterious stranger had already disappeared with the cow, leaving poor naive Inojin with three lousy and supposedly ordinary edamames. When he returned home and proudly presented the edamames to his mother, however, Ino was far less than pleased with her son's decision.
"Edamames? EDAMAMES?! How could you do this, Inojin?!" she shrieked. "I sent you into town for money, not this! Who in their right mind exchanges a whole cow for three edamames?! We can't live on these! What were you thinking?!"
"But, Mother, you don't understand! They're magic edamames! The man who sold them to me said so!" Inojin insisted.
"Magic?! Ugh! Worthless!!!" Ino yelled, taking the edamames out of her son's hand and tossing them out the window and into the yard.
"Look, I know you're really angry right now, but I didn't know what to do. That man seems nice and he was very persuasive. What would it take for you to believe me?" Inojin said.
"I don't know what else to tell you, Inojin," Ino groaned, putting her hand over her face. "You've been tricked. Nothing else to it! There's no such thing as magic edamames! End of story."
"But Mother, please..."
"Not another word, Inojin! To bed without dinner for you! I'll have to come up with another plan to get food around here. Oh, what are we going to do? This is all your fault, Sai. I wish you didn't leave me for a transgender woman and leave us in such terrible debts."
What Ino didn't know was that the edamames she threw into the garden were magical. That very night, when the moon shone brightly in the sky, the edamames took root in the soil in the yard and they began to grow and grow into the night. When the sun rose the next morning, Inojin and his mother gazed in astonishment at what they saw. Standing in front of them was an enormous beanstalk towering over Inojin, Ino, and their farmhouse.
"I told you those edamames were magic," Inojin proudly announced at last.
Ino said nothing. She was too shocked to speak. Then, a thought popped into the young boy's head.
"Hey. Maybe I should climb it. Just to see what's up there," he said as he curiously scratched his head.
"Wait, what? Are you sure you want to do that, Sweetie? It doesn't look very safe. Who knows what might happen up there?" Ino said, shaking her hands. "I just don't want you to get hurt."
"Don't worry about me, Mother. I've climbed stuff like this a million times before. I'll be right back and I'll be careful. Promise," Inojin said, walking closer to the stalk.
"Well...just please be safe," Ino said, hugging Inojin before he began to climb.
Inojin climbed and climbed up the beanstalk, letting his imagination run wild with the possibilities of what would be waiting for him at the top.
"Wow, this thing is pretty big. I can't even tell how far up it goes from here," Inojin said to himself as he continued to climb.
After a while of climbing, Inojin's head popped out from the fluffy mass of pale clouds above his head. He looked around and discovered an entire world above the clouds that nobody could have ever dreamed of. Then he thought about climbing onto the clouds. But even though he was frightened and skeptical of the possible outcome, Inojin took a tiny step onto the cloud in front of him and found out, much to his surprise that it was as firm as solid ground. He wandered away from the beanstalk and he took note of the strange plants which seemed far larger than those back home. After wandering around for a few minutes, Inojin came upon a giant stone building and his eyes grew wide in surprise.
"Whoa! A castle...in the sky?! I gotta know what's in there," Inojin said with excitement in his voice.
He knew that castles had all manner of wonderful things to see and possibly wondrous unimaginable treasures hiding as well. And he thought that maybe this could be the answer to all of his problems.
Without a knock, Inojin slipped under the castle's main entrance doors and looked up to see that everything in the foyer was larger than anything inside a normal castle. His eyes were as large as dinner plates and his mouth fell open at the sight.
"Who could live here?" he asked himself as he tried to climb the enormous steps.
With his curiosity kicking in, Inojin made his way up to the railing, sat down, and he slid down the railing as if it was a slide at the playground and he landed on the floor with a thud.
"Yep, definitely should've thought that through," he muttered as he got back onto his feet.
Then in the corner of his eyes, Inojin saw something glowing and shimmering. He turned his head and saw that it looked like the light was coming from the kitchen. Inojin ran towards the open door, he looked and saw shelves upon shelves of wonderful shining and sparkling things. There were gold and silver that almost reached the ceiling and there were jewels of every shape, cut, color, and size. As he gazed at his surroundings for a moment, Inojin could hear a faint strumming sound coming from somewhere on the enormous table nearby. He wandered closer, the sound becoming louder and louder as he did so. It reminded him of the sound of a harp mixed with the singing voice of a pony. He was entranced by the sound and decided to follow it.
Inojin struggled to climb the leg of the table and once he reached the top, he saw an array of even more treasures. There were golden bricks stacked up as tall as mountains, gilded jewelry boxes as wide as fields, piles of coins as deep as canyons, and all manner of other precious metals and jewels scattered about. He was so overtaken by the stunning sight that he nearly forgot the reason he climbed onto the table in the first place. It wasn't until he heard another few notes that he continued pursuing it to discover the source.
When he turned the corner, Inojin was surprised to see a large goose with yellow feathers and teal eyes sitting in a nest that was surrounded by a few eggs of solid gold sitting next to a large column of bronze coins. He gasped in surprise.
"Uh. Excuse me?" Inojin started.
"Oh! Don't scare me like that," The Goose exclaimed as she saw the small boy before her.
"Oh, sorry," Inojin stammered.
"That's okay. No harm done. Just please don't do it again," The Goose replied, nodding its head.
"Uh. Am I seeing things or are you a magical talking goose?"
"You're not seeing things. My name is Fluttergoose."
"And...are these eggs real gold?"
"Yes. I laid them myself."
"Whoa! That is so cool!"
"Ahem! I'm afraid these eggs do not belong to you!" Another voice said.
That voice was coming from a golden Harp that was strangely in the shape of a lovely unicorn mare with a light yellowish golden coat, deep blue eyes, deep golden curled hair, three blue gems on its "flank", and a large fancily decorated golden lyre-shaped instrument sitting atop its back. He stared at it for a moment before speaking again.
"And what are you supposed to be?" Inojin asked before strumming the golden lyre, causing the creature to laugh at the sensation.
"Stop it! That tickles!" The Harp exclaimed, gently taking the boy's hand away from her lyre. "I am Lyrity and you're not supposed to be here. It isn't safe for someone like you."
"Why not?" Inojin asked.
"Because of our master. He doesn't enjoy having intruders here. If he catches you, he'll crush you with one motion," Lyrity warned. "So, I think it'd be best if you leave right this minute before he discovers you."
"Why not mind your own business?" Inojin said, plucking one of the strings on Lyrity's lyre.
"Ow! Quit playing me!" Lyrity whined, rubbing her back.
That was when they heard loud, rumbling steps coming towards the door. Inojin was very confused, but Lyrity and Fluttergoose were terrified.
"Oh no! It's him!" Fluttergoose exclaimed, covering her face with her wings.
"Who?" Inojin asked.
"Our master, of course!" Lyrity cried. "There's hardly any time for you to escape NOW! You need to..."
Without missing a beat, the giant door to the kitchen burst open scaring Inojin so much that he leapt behind Fluttergoose's nest to hide. Standing in the doorway with an enraged look on his face was none other than Lord Tirek the Giant.
"Fee Fi Fo Fum! I smell the stench of a Human!" He roared.
Tirek stomped from the door to the table, causing the room to shake and quake as if the castle was moving by itself. Lyrity screamed and quickly jumped into a large silver chalice while Fluttergoose kept her face hidden underneath her wings and Inojin struggled to stay unseen as he bounced up and down on the tabletop. The Giant carefully examined each precious item on the table, picking them up one at a time looking for little missing pieces or bits.
Inojin frantically poked his head out of Fluttergoose's nest and looked for a new place to hide from the giant. He saw Lyrity hiding in the chalice. She was giving him a disappointed glare while she slowly shook her head.
"Ah, my prized Goose," The Giant declared, pulling Fluttergoose's nest closer to his face.
"W-whoa!" Inojin exclaimed, falling from the nest with a shattering crash into a large pile of gemstones. "Ouch!!"
"WHAT?! What is the meaning of this?!" Tirek exclaimed in surprise.
Fluttergoose flew away from her nest as the Giant leaned in closer to the gems and squinted his eyes, his face was mere inches away from the spot Inojin was hiding. Inojin popped his head out of the jewels, rubbing his head before he met the gaze of the furious giant centaur. Inojin was frozen in place, with a look of pure terror on his face.
"I knew it! A THIEF!" Tirek said reaching down with his enormous hand and scooping Inojin out of the pile of jewels. Inojin tried to climb out of the Giant's hand, but sadly to no avail.
"Darn it," Inojin muttered.
"Who are you?! What are you doing in my castle?! And what do you want with my treasures?!" Tirek growled, glaring darkly at the tiny boy in his hands.
"Look, Mr. Giant, sir, I didn't know this was your castle. And I didn't know all of this was your treasure. Honestly! I was just observing it, that's all!" Inojin stammered with a terrified look in his eyes.
"A likely story. You were intending to take my prized possessions for yourself! And now, you must pay for your crimes!!"
"Pay? Wha-wha-what do you mean? What are you gonna do to me? Can't you just let me go so I won't bother you ever again? I promise I won't tell anyone about this place! Please, just let me go!!"
"Let you go? Of course not! Don't be ridiculous. I'm just going to eat you and my goose and afterward, I'm going to smash my harp to little pieces for trying to help you escape."
"Say what now?" Inojin asked.
The pit of Inojin's stomach dropped, his eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. Lyrity and Fluttergoose's eyes widened as they both shook in terror.
"Yes, so be prepared, little human. But first, I must fatten you up. You are much too small and scrawny for me to eat, not big, plumb, or fat enough just yet," Tirek said, opening a nearby cabinet and placing Inojin on one of the shelves as if he were a toy. "Wait in here until I come back for you."
As Tirek closed the cupboard door, Inojin quickly pushed his vest in the way of the lock. The Giant turned the key and walk away assuming he had successfully locked Inojin inside. From the table below, Fluttergoose and Lyrity caught sight of Inojin's trick. They didn't want to perish, so Lyrity intended to use her music to aid Inojin's escape. She and Fluttergoose turned their attention to Tirek and trotted towards his hand that was resting on the table.
"Excuse me, Master?" Fluttergoose quietly asked. "Lyrity and I have something we'd like to offer you."
"Yes, yes! Might Fluttergoose and I play you a tune before you...do away with us?" Lyrity added meekly.
"What kind of tune are you intending?" Tirek asked with a suspicious look in his eyes.
"Perhaps something soothing." Lyrity offered.
"Like a nice calm lullaby," Fluttergoose added.
They looked at each other and nodded. Soon, Lyrity began to play a slow melody while she and Fluttergoose were singing a sweet lullaby along with the calm and beautiful strumming she made. Of course, Tirek was helpless of the hypnotic song and he soon rested his head on the table.
After a few minutes of silence, Inojin could finally hear Tirek's loud snores through the wood of the cabinet door. He struggled to get the spoon free from the door's lock, then he opened it as quietly as he possibly could. Being careful not to make a sound, Inojin leaped from the cupboard and onto the countertop. Fluttergoose and Lyrity smiled as Inojin made his way from the counter over to the table.
"Inojin! You're okay!" They quietly exclaimed.
"Nice job distracting the Giant, girls. Now let's get out of here," Inojin said as he led his new friends to the leg of the table as far from the sleeping Giant as possible.
But as they were tiptoeing away, Fluttergoose and Lyrity each let out a soft cough. Inojin gasped in fear and covered their mouths with his hands.
"Guys, be careful! We can't risk letting the Giant hear us and catch us!" Inojin exclaimed, watching Tirek fearfully.
"I'm sorry, Inojin," Fluttergoose said.
"Me, too," Lyrity added.
"It's okay. Come on." Inojin whispered as he and his friends continued on their way.
As the trio began to sneak away, Inojin suddenly felt a tickle in his nose. It grew stronger and stronger and he didn't know why. He looked around and saw a large dragon sneeze tree sitting nearby. He gulped.
'Oh no...' Inojin thought as he felt a sneeze coming on.
Lyrity saw the tree and tried to cover Inojin's nose with her hoof, but it was too late. Inojin had already let out a loud, deafening sneeze. Lyrity and Fluttergoose covered their eyes in fright. Soon after, Inojin quickly covered his mouth with his hands at the realization of what just happened. He closed his eyes in shame when he heard the unwelcome sound of the Giant waking up.
"Nice going," Lyrity worriedly grumbled. Fluttergoose nodded and covered her face with her wings in fear.
"Uh, excuse me..." Inojin muttered.
"What is going on here?! What was that noise?! My harp! My goose! My prisoner! Where are they?!" Tirek roared. Then he spotted the trio trying to escape.
"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!!!" Inojin screamed, holding onto Fluttergoose as she started flapping her large wings.
"Wait for me!!" Lyrity objected, pursuing Inojin and Fluttergoose.
They safely made it down to the floor and Inojin pulled Fluttergoose towards the door with Lyrity following close behind. As Inojin and his friends ran closer toward the exit, Tirek listened for the sounds of tiny hurried footsteps until he spotted the trio making their exit. He growled and raced for the open door ahead of them, but Inojin was too fast and Tirek couldn't keep up with him.
Inojin, Lyrity, and Fluttergoose made their way outside the castle and closer to the beanstalk. The Giant was now hot on their tail.
"COME BACK HERE, THIEF!! TRAITORS!! I WILL DESTROY YOU!! ALL OF YOU!!!!" Tirek roared.
Inojin put Lyrity onto the vine wrapped around the beanstalk beside Fluttergoose and then got behind the two to push them.
"Wait! What are you doing?! Stop!" Lyrity objected.
"Oh my! Please don't!!!" Fluttergoose cried worriedly.
"Hang on, girls. It's gonna get a little bumpy!" Inojin said, pushing, his friends onto the beanstalk and then hopping onto it behind them.
With a loud and excited "YAHOO!!" the trio slid down the vine wrapped around the beanstalk, with Lyrity and Fluttergoose screaming in terror the entire ride down.
Ino waited for half of the day for her son to return. She was so worried about him that she paced the ground near the stalk and wore a small rut into the dirt. She looked back up at the beanstalk curiously when she heard the strange sound of the shrieking goose and the screaming harp. Much to her surprise, Inojin, and his two companions jumped off of the beanstalk missing the farmhouse roof and landing in the dead fields right beside the house. Inojin ran straight to his mother with his friends close behind and hugged Ino tightly with several drops of sweat running down his face and body.
"Inojin! What's going on?! What happened?!" Ino asked worriedly.
"Mother! Get me the ax, quick! He could come down here at any minute!" Inojin shouted in distress.
"What? Who?!"
"No time to explain!! Just get me the ax!!"
Worried and confused by her son's urgent request, Ino ran into the farmhouse, came back outside with the biggest ax she could find, and reluctantly gave it to her son. When he took the axe in his hands, Inojin ran back to the beanstalk and he started to chop it with every ounce of his strength. Inojin was terrified that he failed to save his new friends and his mother, of course, but he knew he would never let that happen not while he was around. So he continued to chop. Once the ax began chipping away at the beanstalk, Tirek was climbing down as best as he could, trying to reach the ground.
"Inojin, what the heck happened up there?!" Ino asked.
"Hurry, Inojin! He's getting closer!!" Lyrity cried, keeping her focus on the sky.
"Almost done!!" Inojin said.
"Oh, I can't look!!!" Fluttergoose squeaked, hiding her face again.
Before the Giant could reach the ground, however, Inojin's ax had already cut clean into the beanstalk's thick stem and the entire plant began to topple over. Tirek was so surprised that he accidentally let go of the beanstalk. He fell to the ground with the beanstalk crashing down on top of him. He was never heard from again.
"Wow..." Inojin said as he wipe sweat from his brow. He knew he had won.
After the beanstalk and Tirek were gone, Inojin and his mother were delighted with their new pet, Fluttergoose. They would take many of the golden eggs she laid almost every day and sell them, but some they would keep for themselves. For they're not greedy. Lyrity would usually spend her free time playing beautiful songs for Inojin and Ino as they collected their new crop, which they always loved to hear.
And with the money they earned selling the eggs of gold, Inojin, and Ino were finally able to pay off all of their debts. And from that time on, they all lived happily ever after.