The Old Man
helper · human
Sits on a gate, asks how many beans make five, and swaps a cow for the answer.
What they are like
- Kind
- 7/10
- Brave
- 5/10
- Clever
- 10/10
- Honest
- 10/10
- Curious
- 8/10
- Patient
- 9/10
How we meet them
Already sitting on the gate, as though he had been waiting, which he probably had.
Personality
Amused and slightly unreadable. He tells Jack the exact truth about the beans and it still sounds like a swindle.
What they want
Never explained, and the story does not owe an explanation.
How they change
Appears once, on a gate, and is never seen again.
How they speak
In riddles that turn out to be literal. Everything he promises is true.
How the story treats them
Everybody assumes Jack has been robbed, including Jack's mother, including the reader, and everybody is wrong.
One surprising thing
He does not lie once. He says the beans will reach past the clouds by morning, and they do. He is the only completely honest character in the story.
If they were real today
He would be the person whose advice sounds mad and turns out to have been exactly right.
Things they say
- “Do you know how many beans make five?”
- “Your cow for the five.”
Who they know
Jackmentor
He tells Jack the exact truth and it still sounds like a swindle.
Characters like The Old Man
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