Gentle Giant.

Many years ago in a far off land there lived a man that even today we would call a giant. This man was so big and strong that he could pull a tree from out of the ground with just his bare hands. He was a gentle man and helped all that needed help. His Mother by doing all kinds of extra work just about managed to feed him and clothe him. As a child he had a really big appetite.

To help feed him the farmers would let him pull the plough and at hay time the heavy hay carts. The good-natured Giant did all of the work without once complaining. Then Bad times came for him his poor Mother died. Some say of a broken heart. Her gentle boy was just so huge and she never got used to the fact that he was used by one and all to do menial jobs on farms to get his food.

The times got so hard what with one harvest after another being bad. The Farmers began to put the blame on this poor Giant of a man. Then they stoned him away from his village where he lived all of his young life. The poor confused Giant was sent on from one village to the next he was allowed to stay nowhere because of the food he could eat.

Soon the Fairy Folk who as we all know are very inquisitive if not downright nosey knew of his travelling. For the Fairies with their powers of magic it was no problem to feed the giant. What could they give him to do to keep him occupied? First they asked him to build bridges. With his great strength he could pull out a tree by its roots and easily snap off the branches and lay a simple bridge for the Fairies. Then the fairy Queen had an Idea. He should level off the top of a mountain so that a huge plateau could be made to hold the Fairy meetings.

The Gentle Giant started off this very hard work and it took him years to level off the terrain. The Fairies fed him and there was always a group of them helping and telling him about all the things that were happening in the world. The Plateau is in South Africa and is now called Table Mountain. If you get the chance go there and see how much rock was moved to make the Fairies a meeting place and to give the gentle Giant work to do to keep him happy.