15 The Lonely Giant

The Lonely Giant written by Pam Holden illustrated by Samer Hatam

The Lonely Giant was an unhappy, grumpy giant, who lived alone on a high mountain. He was not kind and helpful like the Gentle Giant who lived in the valley below. "I am tired of living all alone. I wish I had a friend," the Lonely Giant grumbled to himself. "I need someone to talk to and play with, so I will go for a walk to find some friends."

The Lonely Giant came marching down from the mountaintop to look for a friend. As he walked, the ground cracked and shook like an earthquake. Frightened people ran into their houses and shut the doors tight. All the animals ran quickly to hide, and the birds squawked as they flapped far away. "I feel so lonely!" roared the giant angrily, stamping his foot. He marched back up his mountain, where he sat all alone, wondering how he could ever find some friends. As he sat there feeling sorry for himself, he noticed some strange and interesting things happening in the valley below...

An enormous tree had fallen across the road, stopping all the traffic. An ambulance could not get past to take a sick person to the hospital. The driver didn't know what to do, but someone kind came to help him. A huge, strong man smiled as he lifted the heavy tree out of the way. He was the Gentle Giant. "Thank you, Gentle Giant," called the ambulance driver as he quickly drove away to the hospital.

Then the Gentle Giant heard two children calling for help. Their tiny kitten had climbed onto a high roof, and it was too frightened to come down. The children couldn't reach the kitten, and it wouldn't come down when they called its name. The Gentle Giant reached up and carefully lifted it down for them. "Thank you, Gentle Giant," said the happy children.

As the Gentle Giant walked home, he saw a car that was stopped because it needed a wheel changed. The poor driver couldn't fix it because he didn't have enough tools. The Gentle Giant just lifted the car off the ground while the driver changed the wheel. The people got back into the car, smiling at the Gentle Giant as they waved goodbye.