The Selfish Giant

There was a giant and he was a very selfish giant. His castle was so large it took eighteen years to build, and only the best materials were used. He had soup bowls the size of bathtubs made of solid gold. His chairs reached the second floor of a peasant’s house and they were bedecked with precious jewels and metals. His larder was full of the best of foods and his dresser was crammed with the finest satin and velvet clothing sewed with true silver thread. The giant had so many riches, he spent his entire day counting his wealth. He spent whatever he wanted and he never, ever worried about money.

Now at the very same time the giant enjoyed his remarkable spread of wealth, there was a speck of a town only a half mile from the giant’s castle. It was a very poor town. Their crops failed over and over due to years of droughts, and the town’s well dried up. The chickens stopped laying eggs and the cows were unable to give milk. There wasn’t a river or a lake anywhere in the region, so the townsfolk had only rainwater to drink and water their plants, and the citizens were in a very bad way.

The Mayor of the town, once a stout man, but now quite skinny, called the men together for a meeting. Mayor Woggles demanded order. “We have a serious problem of which ye all know. Unless we get lots of water and food, our children will soon starve. Does any of ye have a solution? Any kind of solution at all? Weird or strange? I want to hear any and every idea.”

The crowd was silent. Everyone looked at each other, but no one said a word. Then a little boy, who had sneaked into the back of the crowd, spoke up in his very loud voice. (His name was Josef and he always spoke in a very loud voice.)

“The giant in the castle has a great deal of money. More than he could spend in his whole lifetime. Maybe he could share with us. We could buy food and water with his money until our crops come in.”

The crowd roared with laughter. Josef’s father picked up a stick and whipped the boy’s legs as he walked him part way home. “How dare ye come to a men’s meeting, ye being only ten years old. Now go to yer mother.”

But Mayor Woogles was thoughtful for a minute. “Fellows, we have a suggestion, and I am willing to try any suggestion to save our town.” The men quieted and waited for the Mayor to speak again. “I think the most obvious method is to knock on the giant’s door and tell him of our plight.”

The crowd grumbled. “He’s the most selfish giant in the country. He won’t give us anything.”

The mayor persisted. “We need a volunteer to visit the giant. Who is the bravest man in the village?”

“Reginald is the bravest man.” “He is the best hunter.” “He is the one who settles fights.” “He isn’t afraid of anything,” the crowd broke out. “Yeah for Reginald.”

Reginald stood straight. He always claimed to be the bravest man in the town. How could he let his reputation be blemished? “Yes, I am the bravest. I will take my hatchet, and visit the selfish giant.”

The next morning he left to visit the selfish giant amidst the cheers of the townspeople. The little boys of the town, including Josef, played on a big rock just outside of town. They had come to watch for the return of Reginald, but instead the boys took turns pushing each other off the rock. Only Josef stayed on the rock and watched the road. When an hour had passed, Reginald returned to town.

Josef ran to meet him. “Hello, Reginald. How did ye do?”

“Well, young Josef, yer idea was a good idea, that’s fer sure. But that selfish giant has no heart. I knocked and he opened the door. I’ll give him that much. I yelled at him and told him he was the most selfish giant in the country. I screamed that he had gold and silver and our town had nothing and he was a stingy old giant because he wouldn’t share. I stomped my feet and kicked his door. He was so rude, he closed the door in my face and refused to say a word.”

The town was desolate. Mayor Woobles called a second meeting that evening. “We need another to approach the giant. He is our only solution. Is there another volunteer?”

Tte crowd started offering suggestions, never including their own name. “Let’s pick Thaddeus. He is the sneakiest person in town. Maybe he can sneak into the castle and get some of the giant’s treasures.” Some of the men didn’t approve of this plan, but their children were nearly starving, and they were afraid to disagree. When Josef’s father reached his home, he told his son what had happened, and they both went to bed very sad.

The next morning Thaddeus took off for the giant’s castle. He had a lock pick in his pocket, and he was so certain of success he whistled a bit walking down the pitted road. He reached the giant’s castle, but he didn’t knock on the door. Instead, he took his pick from his pocket and started picking the lock. The giant heard the rattle at the door and came to see what the noise was he heard. He swung open the door so hard that Thaddeus flew into the air.

“Get off my land, ye thief. I should string ye by your thumbs.” Thaddeus ran so fast, he was barely breathing when he reached the town. Everyone circled around him. When he caught his breath, he told all of details of his visit. The people grumbled and the Mayor was downcast.

“I have no more ideas. I fear fer my poor, little town,” said the mayor.

The town was silent, so it was easy to hear Josef speak up in his very loud voice. “I have a secret idea. I want to be the one to try it, not an adult who thinks they can do it better. Only my mom and my dad and I will know the secret.”

The Mayor nodded his head. “Young Josef, if you have an idea, while these men have none, ye are encouraged to try.” And the crowd all clapped, mostly because they didn’t have any other ideas.

All that day, Josef’s family stayed in their home. The townspeople could hear pounding, and they could hear pots and pans, and they could hear Josef speaking, but they couldn’t figure out the secret.

The next morning Josef headed towards the giant’s home. He had a wicker basket over his arm, covered partly by a blue checkered cloth. He held a large bundle in his other arm, wrapped in burlap and string. His clothing was in disrepair, but he wore a little tie. When he reached the giant’s door, he sang out. “Dear, Giant. I am here to visit and I have gifts fer ye from my family.”

After a few long minutes, the selfish and by this time angry, giant opened the door. “What is it?” he said gruffly. “What do ye have? Is it a tantrum or a trick?”

“Neither, Sir Giant. Neither a trick or a tantrum. My name is Josef and I live in the poor town just down the road. I have some gifts fer ye.”

“Gifts?” Fer me? No one ever gives me gifts. I guess ye may come inside.” The giant opened the door wide and told Josef to sit in the parlor. Josef held the packages out to the giant.

“What are these? If this is a joke, I’ll sup ye in me soup tonight.”

“Mr. Giant, I told ye they were gifts fer ye. From me family. Open them.”

So the selfish giant opened the basket. Inside was a rather flat loaf of cornbread decorated with shriveled red peppers baked by Josef’s mother. Then the selfish giant excitedly opened the gift in burlap. Josef’s father had made the giant a carving of a pair of deer resting by a tree. “These are wonderful gifts, and ye must thank yer parents for me. Now do ye have a gift fer me?”

“Yes, sir. I will sing ye a song, and then give ye an oration.” And that’s what Josef did. He sang a lovely ballad about kings and knights and ladies-in-waiting. Then he began a speech. He quietly told the giant of the plight of his town and how soon the little children would perish. By the time Josef finished his story, the Giant was sobbing into his handkerchief.

“Oh, Josef. Ye have been so kind to me. What can I do for ye in turn?”

“Although I will not beg from ye, there are perhaps things we could exchange. The mothers and girls could take turns baking fer ye, once they have the proper ingredients. The fathers and boys are craftsmen and can surprise ye with gifts made by their very hands. And I will come to see ye every Saturday. I will visit with ye and I will sing fer ye and I will speak fer ye.”

“And the exchange? What do ye want from me?”

“Dear Giant, ye have so many glorious things. If ye would allow us to exchange our gifts for a gift from ye. Yer gift to us could be sold from the far away town’s market. We could get food and water for my townspeople.”

The giant thought and thought and thought. Finally a smile crossed his face. “I agree to yer proposal. Ye may take whatever ye need to support yer little town. And as for yer townspeople’s gifts, why, they would be very nice. But the only gifts I will accept are your visits and your songs and your orations. Why, Josef, I think I may change me name to the Friendly Giant. How does that sound?

“It sounds wonderful. Friendly Giant, ye shall be.”