Once upon a time in Gentle Giant Town lived a really kind giant named Greg. His heart was as big as his feet, but even a giant can feel a little lonely at times. All the other giants just didn’t seem to know how to talk to him or be his friend. They whispered in hushed voices whenever he walked past. Of course, he couldn’t help his size!
Every day when Greg went shopping, he tried to do the right thing, get the right food, and even pay the right amount of money. But even doing one simple task was hard for him because:
- First, his hands were far too big. Picking tiny things up was almost impossible.
- Second, when he handed over his money—well, let’s just say his coins made for a big clink!
On this one lonely day, Greg was heading off to the costume shop to buy a wizard’s robe for himself. He passed by a shoe shop where he heard something crying. He opened the door and kneeled down to look through the window. There, looking up at him, was a sad little doggy.
“What is the matter?” asked Greg.
“I’ve lost my owner, and now I can’t find my way home,” sniffed the doggy through his big tears.
“Don’t worry, just hop on my hand and I will give you a lift!” said Greg, and off they went.
But the little doggy wasn’t the only one who needed help. That afternoon, one by one, more and more animals came to plead with the kind giant for help. A mother duck with her ducklings pleaded, “We’ve strayed too far from our pond and can’t find our way home.” And off they all went in Greg’s hands.
But this only left a few things for Greg to carry, like a rabbit without a house and some chattering birds with tired wings. So each time Greg helped another animal, he had less to carry, and each time he grew sadder too. He seemed to have lost hope of finding himself a nice wizard’s robe that day.
Finally, when they’d all arrived at the forest where the animals lived, Greg said goodbye to them all and turned to go home. All at once he heard a buzzing sound around his ear. A butterfly flew around Greg’s head and down past his knees. At first, the butterfly was too small for Greg to see properly, but this just made him lean down even lower to have a look. Then the butterfly started flying in circles in front of Greg, buzzing with joy.
“Thank you!” chirped the butterfly. “I was lost in that shoe shop! Your man didn’t see me so put me in your shopping bad. But then you took me home!”
Greg suddenly remembered. “Oh dear! How could I forget? Your wings will get creased and squashed in there!” Greg rushed back to the shoe shop, but it was all closed up fast and everyone inside was sound asleep. This would never do! So Greg gently and quietly pushed the door open and scraped the soles of his enormous shoes across the floor. Then he reached up, up high to the shelf and carefully took down his shopping bag. Of course, it was far too big for him. Mice could have lived inside it! Finally, down he came with the bag and gently tipped the bin inside it onto the floor. And out buzzed the butterfly.
“Oh thank you, thank you!” said the butterfly, flapping his wings with joy. “Now I can get home!”
And that felt really good to Greg.
And as Greg set off toward home once again, for the last time that day, he passed by the trees that just outside Giant Town. Suddenly from behind them came running the animals he’d helped! Happy smiley faces on all their furry heads. They all rushed off in front and went scurrying over into one of the nearby giant’s gardens. They rummaged about for a while and soon hurried back looking a little bit ashamed of themselves.
Then the furry animals and the happy birds threw a huge, big, and beautiful surprise party for the kindest giant anywhere to be found—Greg! By and by every other giant soon heard the news. And one by one while out for their daily walk, the giants would pass Greg’s garden and soon stop to have a look at the ever-growing crowd of happy animals. They all looked in, saw how much fun was being had, and wished they were in there too. But, being all-too-shy giants, they said nothing at all.
When at last Greg saw all the other giants leaning on each other’s shoulders to look through his window… Well, that was just too much for Greg. He waved the biggest of his new-made friends goodbye and soon said farewell to all the others, excitedly holding their new robes, hats, shoes, bags, and spoons. But Greg and his giant friends, followed by all the happy animals and birds, three hundred altogether, walked into the town—all the way, or a giant’s leg anyway, for the beginning of a new special life together.
For Greg had learnt that there was no need to feel so lonely. All he had to do was to look out for anyone who was smaller than himself, and there was always something he could do to help. It was excellent fun shopping every day too in this novel giant’s fashion. For so excitingly prodded to the shops were dozens and dozens of animals, chirped, or shouted about the shop asking for the various things they wanted.
“By the way,” said one of the birds over lunch three days later, “where did you get your new wizard’s robes? The others say you got them at our old costume shop!”
“That’s quite true,” said Greg, “but I only got them for those who carried home our things after shopping. They stood there to buy what they wanted, but didn’t what suits them would make great namesongs.”
“Well,” said another bird about the same thing, “but how old do you suppose it is?”
As soon as ever Greg sat down in all his clicking green and golden grandeur, smiles broke out, and they all started singing about the town
Greg the Giant! Who could daintily know!
(He’d be that much taller than tall himself feeling grow!)
Enormously down! When at last he’d been seated on high,
Greg the Giant! Where ere for a sweet time web can they fly!
So from one thing to another, and so forth from week to week, Greg the Giant learnt everything he knew to do about all exactly those thirty small lives, from respecting its stillures sleep, to breaking last, and everything in between too; and they between them all never had known till he arrived. You see, kind-heartedness may be learnt, from every little creature who just chirps and trills happy love songs for all to hear, to the biggest giant of them all.