Once upon a time there was a baby giant. He lived with his giant father and giant mother in their giant house in the mountains. The house was where he learned to crawl, and then where he learned to walk. Once he was old enough to run, his parents sent him down into the valley to play by himself, instructing him not to come back until dark. He didn’t much mind being alone, but he did want to look for someone to play with. After walking around for a bit, he found a strange place filled with tiny shapes and people. They looked much like him, but smaller. The young giant was overjoyed to have found some friends to play with. He ran through a yellow field and approached the village. Some people shouted at him, and he shouted back with glee. He tore the roof off of one of the houses and reached in to pick up one of the people. There was more screaming, so he too screamed with joy. He dropped the person gently back into the house- a short drop of perhaps 15 feet- and moved on to the next set of new toys and friends. This went on for a few hours until the sun began to set, at which point he ran home, had supper, and went to sleep.
From that point on, the giant’s parents continued daily to send him out of the house to play. So with nobody to guide him or teach him, he would find his own games and activities. Sometimes he would play in the forest. Sometimes he would play in the hills. And at least once a week, he would return to play at the village. The villagers, of course, were helpless. Their village was fairly small, and it wasn’t very close to anybody else. Much of their energy was spent on trying to help the people who were hurt each time the giant visited. They had enough food to live on- but just barely, as many of their crops were destroyed. They had no weaponry, and their carriages had been destroyed when the giant had decided to play with them. Even though nobody had yet been wounded to the point of death, just repairing the damage was taking all that they had. Resistance was more than they could even dream of. If the giant had desired to destroy them, it would have been a slaughter.
This went on for many months, until one day, the giant decided to explore someplace new. He traveled for hours across fields and plains, even crossing the river with his massive strides. Eventually, he found something familiar. Familiar, and yet, different. It was another village. A village near a mountain. The giant found himself becoming quite curious. How did the tiny people act in this village? He hid himself by the mountain and decided to watch and see what they did. Immediately, he noticed his first difference. The people in this village didn’t shout or scream at each other. He heard singing. He heard cheering. He heard laughter. The young giant had never heard these sounds before, but he felt that they were much prettier. Wanting to know more, he moved from his hiding spot and entered the village. He was careful to walk the same paths that they walked, but although he only crushed what seemed to be a few small sticks and stones, the beautiful sounds quickly turned to screaming once more. Shocked, the young giant left the village and ran.
The giant ran until he could run no more. Then, as the sun began to set, he sat down and cried. He cried, and he wondered. Why was it that the villagers made different sounds when he played with them? He walked in the places that they walked. He played the games that they played. But he could see that he was the reason that they screamed. He could understand now that their screams were not the same as his screams of delight. And there was only one common point that he could see: himself. Was this why his parents sent him to play by himself each day? If he stayed at home, would he make them scream too? Did he bring screaming everywhere he went? The giant continued to cry until he fell asleep.
When he woke up the next morning, he knew what he had to do. He wouldn’t go home. He wouldn’t play at the villages anymore, either. He would live by himself. It was the only way to let the people live in happiness. So he picked himself up and began walking again. He found a cozy cave to live in, with lots of wild fruit trees nearby. And just like that, he lived in that cave for many years. He lived in solitude and learned to be content with it. It was a peaceful life, and he never saw another person- or at least- they never saw him. He tried to stay away, but found that he couldn’t help himself. Once a month or so, he would return to the second village. The one where he had heard the laughter. But he made sure to keep himself well hidden. He would listen to their happy sounds, but wouldn’t disturb them. Then he would return to his cave, and on those nights only, he would allow himself to cry again until he fell asleep.
During this time, the people of the first village were growing cautiously optimistic. The first week of the giant’s absence, they didn’t dare to hope that he could be gone for good. The second week, they started to wonder if things had changed. And by the third week, they knew that they had to take this opportunity before it disappeared. They began fixing their village- not just repairing it, but improving it. They built walls and guard towers. They began arming themselves with bows and swords. They didn’t know where the giant had gone- and even if they had, they weren’t about to go disturb a hornets’ nest. But they had learned how vulnerable their village was. The giant could come back, or something even worse could come in his place. And if that happened- well, this time, they would be ready. So over the years, the village began to transform into a town that was very different from what it had been before.
One day, while the giant was hiding near his second village, listening to the happy sounds, something strange happened. He heard a sound from behind him. At first he thought he must have misheard, but then it happened again. He turned around and found a little girl staring right at him. She was carrying a basket of fruit. He froze in place, looking at her in horror. How could he have been so careless? He was going to make her scream. His hiding spot would be revealed, and he would never be able to hear the happy sounds ever again! He was about to run away, when she took a step towards him. Silently, she reached into her basket and took out an apple, then extended it towards him. Almost without realizing it, he reached out his hand towards her, causing her to toss the apple into the palm of his hand. She smiled at him, then ran off towards the village without making a sound. The giant stared after her, confused, and then returned to his cave.
The next month, the giant skipped listening to the pretty voices. He was scared of what he would find. But the month after that, he couldn’t resist, and once again found himself drawn to his hiding spot. As he got closer, he found that the little girl was waiting for him this time. He froze again, but she grew an enormous smile when she saw him, so he ventured closer. Once again, she gave him a piece of fruit- a pear this time- and he accepted it. This time, instead of running back to the village, she sat down with him. Hesitantly, he sat down as well, and listened to the sounds. It didn’t seem like she, at least, was going to shout. So for the moment, he stayed. And as he watched the villagers going about their lives, he noticed something that he hadn’t before. There was an open area that seemed busier than other parts of the town. A lot of people were standing opposite each other and handing things back and forth across tables. And some of what was being handed off, he noticed, was fruit. What could this mean?
The giant thought about this mystery all the way home. A girl had given him fruit twice, and had remained silent both times. No angry noises and no happy noises. In the village, people made happy noises, and also handed fruit to each other. Was this the secret? Maybe he had misunderstood all along. Maybe the problem wasn’t himself, but that he had never given any fruit! He decided that he would try it. The next week, he gathered up his courage and returned to his hiding spot. He normally would have waited longer, but he had to know- and this time, he brought fruit. The girl was waiting for him again, and once again, he was met with a silent smile. Did she wait for him every day? He wasn’t sure. But now it was time to test his theory. He took an apple- carefully selected to be the same as what she’d given him the first time- and handed it to her gently. Her smile grew wider, and she said something. He didn’t understand her words, but he heard the sound. And it wasn’t an angry sound. It wasn’t laughter or singing, but it was a happy sound. The giant was so delighted that he didn’t even stay to listen to the village- he ran straight back to his cave and began gathering more fruit. The next day, he returned again. The girl was waiting as usual, and this time, he dumped about a dozen pieces of fruit at her feet, causing her to laugh. Aha! Another sound! Even happier than before! He had solved the problem! He rushed into the village with even more fruit to give- and was met with more screams. He stopped and stood still, horrified. What had he done wrong? Maybe they didn’t know that he had brought fruit this time? Standing in place, he poured it out onto the ground. The screams stopped, and the people looked at him in silence. No laughter, but no screaming, either. Then one of them went carefully over to some of the sticks he had broken and began looking at them. Then the giant understood. The sticks that were so small to him- the things that he considered beneath his notice- those same sticks were very large to the little people. And the sticks had a purpose. Very carefully, he backed out of the village and returned to his cave.
The next month, he returned one last time. This time, the little girl was waiting at the edge of the village instead of in his hiding spot. He approached her slowly, but openly, being very careful to watch where he stepped. The happy sounds got quieter as he got closer, but didn’t stop completely like they had before. He handed a piece of fruit to the little girl, then set down another pile next to her. Then, without waiting for anything more, he waved goodbye and walked away- not towards his cave, but towards the first village that he had found all those years ago. He knew that he needed to give them some fruit, too. As he walked away, he heard more shouts coming from behind him. But these were a different kind of shout from before. These shouts were trying to make their voices reach him. The shouts were happy. And the giant was happy.
As the giant approached the village from all those years ago, he kept thinking about how they might react to his gift of fruit. He wondered also about all the damage he may have done, and wondered if the fruit would even be enough. Could he help them with something else? Would he be able to turn their screams into laughter? He hoped so. But when the village first came into view, he was surprised to see that it looked different than before. It was more… closed than before. It was taller and wider than before. But it was in the same place, so he knew it was the same village. He got closer, making sure to walk on the path and watch his feet. Suddenly, the blast of trumpets came from the village. Moments later, a volley of arrows launched from the village, many of them sticking into the giant. He screamed in pain and tried to take some of them out. Then the town gates burst open and a cavalry charged out. Some of them slashed at his legs and feet, and others took ropes, wrapping them around him to ensnare him. His fruit dropped and scattered as he toppled backwards to the ground. Crying, he tried to get up and run away, but more ropes were thrown across to tie him down. Swordsmen approached his neck and stabbed him, and as he continued to sob, his breathing stopped.
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