Magic Beans

You start with beans.

You water.

You wait.

You wait some more.

Meanwhile, something ridiculous, something miraculous, something magical happens in the ground. Down where you can't see. Down where worms wriggle through cool, dark mud.

This is true for all beans.

But especially if the beans just happen to be . . . magic beans.

Then . . . whooooosh!

Overnight an enormous beanstalk appears, spiraling up and up to a castle in the clouds.

Will you be brave enough to climb? Or crazy enough?

Your neighbors are laughing at you. Your best friends are whispering behind your back. And your father? You've seen the disappointment in his eyes.

You've already made a fool of yourself. Trading your cow for a bunch of beans. Beans! What were you thinking?

So begins a story. And so begins every story. With a choice. Even a really bad, how-could-I-be-so-dumb choice. Our choices take us places we never dreamed of going. Who knew that beans could sprout a stairway to the stars?

Because you are the hero. This is your choice. This is your story.

We each live in a story, and that is why we respond to stories. We feed on them. We draw strength from them. We learn from them. Inside each one of us is a giant killer, just waiting to prove his mettle, to show her quality. There are ladders to climb, monsters to slay, treasures to find. But first. . .

You start with beans.