The Giant’s Shoes
by Unknown · from Tales of Laughter: A third fairy book
Adapted Version
Once, there was a big giant. A very, very big giant. He lived in a tiny castle. But he was too big for it! His big feet stuck out the doors. One foot here. One foot there. He could not move at all.
Big Giant slept for many days. He slept and slept and slept. Then he woke up. He ate many, many pancakes. Mrs. Giant lived in his shoe. It was a very big shoe. She liked it there.
The people were smart. Big Giant had very big feet. His feet were clumsy. So the people built a church. They built it behind him. His big feet could not reach.
Two brothers lived in the village. They were very not alike. Singing Brother loved to sing. He sang all day long. Hay Brother was quiet and clever. He ate hay each night. He woke up covered in hay!
One day, a thing broke. Mrs. Giant's special clothes rack broke. She needed to dry her clothes. So she was very clever. She used two sticks and string. She made a new dry line.
The two brothers saw this. They looked at each other. They had a clever plan. They walked right up to Big Giant.
Big Giant saw the brothers. "Wife! Come!" he called. But Mrs. Giant was scared. She hid in his big shoe. She did not come out.
Singing Brother stepped forward. "I will sing!" he said. He began to sing. But Big Giant liked singing too. Big Giant sang along. His voice was very, very loud. It hurt Singing Brother's ears. "Too loud!" he cried. He ran away fast. He covered his ears.
Now it was Hay Brother's turn. He was covered in soft hay. He crept to Big Giant's big toes. He tickled and tickled and tickled.
Big Giant could not stop laughing. He kicked his big feet. He kicked and kicked. The tiny castle broke apart. Big Giant fell over. He fell into the soft ground. He got stuck. Then he fell fast asleep. He slept for a long, long time.
Big Giant slept for a long, long time. The village was safe and happy. The people smiled. And that is the end.
Original Story
The Giant’s Shoes
Once upon a time there was a large giant who lived in a small castle; at least he didn’t all of him live there, but he managed things in this wise. From his earliest youth up, his legs had been of a surreptitiously small size, unsuited to the rest of his body; so he sat upon the southwest wall of the castle with his legs inside, and his right foot came out of the east gate, and his left foot out of the north gate, while his gloomy but spacious coat tails covered up the south and the west gates; and in this way the castle was defended against all comers, and was deemed impregnable by the military authorities. This, however, as we shall soon see, was not the case, for the giant’s boots were inside as well as his legs, but, as he had neglected to put them on in the giddy days of his youth, he was never afterward able to do so, because there was not enough room. And in this bootless but compact manner he passed his time.
The giant slept for three weeks at a time, and two days after he woke his breakfast was brought to him, consisting of bright brown horses sprinkled on his bread and butter. Besides his boots, the giant had a pair of shoes, and in one of them his wife lived when she was at home; on other occasions she lived in the other shoe. She was a sensible, practical kind of woman, with two wooden legs and a clothes-horse; but in other respects not rich. The wooden legs were kept pointed at the end in order that, if the giant were dissatisfied with his breakfast, he might pick up any stray people that were within reach, using his wife as a fork. This annoyed the inhabitants of the district, so that they built their church in a southwestern 383direction from the castle behind the giant’s back, that he might not be able to pick them up as they went in. But those who stayed outside to play pitch-and-toss were exposed to great danger and sufferings.
Now, in the village there were two brothers of altogether different tastes and dispositions, and talents, and peculiarities, and accomplishments, and in this way they were discovered not to be the same person. The elder of them was most marvelously good at singing, and could sing the Old Hundredth an old hundred times without stopping. Whenever he did this, he stood on one leg and tied the other round his neck to avoid catching cold and spoiling his voice, but the neighbors fled. And he was also a rare hand at making guava dumplings out of three cats and a shoe-horn, which is an accomplishment seldom met with. But his brother was a more meager, magnanimous person, and his chief accomplishment was to eat a wagon-load of hay overnight, and wake up thatched in the morning.
The whole interest of this story depends upon the fact that the giant’s wife’s clothes-horse broke in consequence of a sudden thaw, being made of organ-pipes. So she took off her wooden legs and stuck them in the ground, tying a string from the top of one to the top of the other, and hung out her clothes to dry on that. Now, this was astutely remarked by the two brothers, who therefore went up in front of the giant after he had had his breakfast. The giant called out, “Fork! fork!” but his wife, trembling, hid herself in the more recondite toe of the second shoe. Then the singing brother began to sing, but he had not taken into account the pious disposition of the giant, who instantly joined in the psalm; and this caused the singing brother to burst his head off, but, as it was tied by the leg, he did not lose it altogether.
But the other brother, being well thatched on account of the quantity of hay he had eaten overnight, lay down between the great toe of the giant and the next, and wriggled. So the giant, being unable to bear tickling in the feet, kicked out in 384an orthopædal manner; whereupon the castle broke, and he fell backward, and was impaled upon the sharp steeple of the church. So they put a label on him on which was written: “Nudipes Gigantens.”
That’s all.
William Kingdon Clifford.
Story DNA
Plot Summary
A giant lives in a small castle, using his body to defend it, with his wife residing in his shoes and serving as a potential fork for his horse-based breakfast. Two brothers, one a singer and the other a hay-eater, decide to confront the giant after his wife's clothesline breaks. The singing brother's attempt to distract the giant with a psalm backfires, causing his head to burst. The thatched brother then tickles the giant's foot, leading the giant to kick out, destroy the castle, and impale himself on a church steeple, ending his bizarre reign.
Themes
Emotional Arc
amusement to surprise
Writing Style
Narrative Elements
Cultural Context
This story is an example of Victorian-era literary nonsense, often characterized by absurd logic and whimsical scenarios, similar to works by Lewis Carroll.
Plot Beats (11)
- A giant lives in a small castle, using his body to defend it, with his legs inside and feet protruding from gates, unable to wear his boots due to lack of space.
- The giant sleeps for three weeks, eats horses for breakfast, and his wife lives in one of his shoes, using her wooden legs as a fork for him to pick up people.
- Local inhabitants build their church behind the giant's back to avoid being eaten, but those outside are still at risk.
- Two brothers with vastly different, peculiar talents live in the village: one a singer who makes guava dumplings, the other who eats hay and wakes up thatched.
- The giant's wife's clothes-horse, made of organ-pipes, breaks due to a thaw, so she uses her wooden legs and a string as a clothesline.
- The two brothers notice the clothesline and approach the giant after his breakfast.
- The giant calls for his wife to use her as a fork, but she hides in his shoe.
- The singing brother attempts to entertain the giant with a psalm, but the giant joins in, causing the brother's head to burst off (though still attached by a leg).
- The thatched brother lies between the giant's toes and wriggles, tickling him.
- The giant, unable to stand the tickling, kicks out, destroying the castle and falling backward onto the church steeple, impaling himself.
- The giant is labeled 'Nudipes Gigantens' and the story concludes.
Characters
The Giant
Enormous in size, with disproportionately small legs compared to the rest of his body. His right foot emerges from the east gate of the castle, and his left foot from the north gate. His spacious coat tails cover the south and west gates. He is so large he cannot fit his boots on.
Attire: A spacious coat, the tails of which are large enough to cover two castle gates. No other clothing is mentioned.
Wants: To defend his castle and satisfy his hunger, though his primary motivation seems to be maintaining his comfortable, if unusual, existence.
Flaw: His small legs prevent him from moving freely, his piety makes him susceptible to joining in psalms, and he is extremely ticklish in his feet.
He remains largely unchanged until his demise. His established routine is disrupted, leading to his accidental downfall.
Pious, easily annoyed by tickling, somewhat passive (sleeps for weeks), and prone to using his wife as a fork when dissatisfied with breakfast.
The Giant's Wife
A sensible, practical woman with two wooden legs. Her overall wealth is described as 'not rich'. She lives inside one of the giant's shoes.
Attire: Not specified, but implied to be simple given her 'not rich' status. She uses a clothes-horse made of organ-pipes.
Wants: To live peacefully and avoid being used as a fork by her giant husband.
Flaw: Her fear of her husband, which causes her to hide when he calls for her.
She remains a supporting character, her actions (or lack thereof) indirectly leading to the giant's downfall.
Sensible, practical, easily frightened (especially by her husband's demands), and resourceful (using her wooden legs as clothesline posts).
The Elder Brother
Not explicitly detailed beyond being distinct from his brother. He is described as 'most marvelously good at singing'.
Attire: Not specified.
Wants: To sing and practice his unusual culinary skills.
Flaw: His singing, while a talent, is so powerful it causes his head to burst off (though it remains tied by his leg). He misjudges the giant's 'pious disposition'.
His attempt to distract the giant by singing leads to his head bursting off, a peculiar but non-fatal consequence, and he fails to distract the giant effectively.
Talented (at singing and making guava dumplings), peculiar, and perhaps a bit oblivious to the impact of his actions on others (neighbors flee his singing).
The Younger Brother
Described as 'more meager' than his brother, but also 'magnanimous'. His unique ability is to eat a wagon-load of hay overnight and wake up 'thatched' in the morning, implying a covering of hay on his body.
Attire: Implied to be covered in hay in the mornings, suggesting simple, perhaps worn, clothing underneath.
Wants: To defeat the giant and end the danger he poses to the villagers.
Flaw: Described as 'meager', suggesting a lack of physical strength compared to his brother's vocal power.
He successfully defeats the giant through cleverness and his unique ability, becoming the hero of the story.
Magnanimous, resourceful, and clever, using his unique ability to defeat the giant.
Locations
The Giant's Castle
A small castle, disproportionately small for the giant, with its southwest wall serving as his seat. His right foot protrudes from the east gate, his left from the north gate, and his coat-tails cover the south and west gates. The interior holds his boots and his wife's shoes.
Mood: Impregnable, peculiar, somewhat absurd due to the giant's size relative to it.
The giant resides here, defending it with his body. His wife lives within his shoes inside.
The Village Church
A church built in a southwestern direction from the castle, specifically behind the giant’s back, to avoid his reach. It has a sharp steeple.
Mood: A place of refuge and community, but also a site of accidental demise.
Villagers attend services here to avoid the giant. The giant is impaled upon its steeple at the story's climax.
The Giant's Shoes (as dwellings)
Two enormous shoes belonging to the giant, one of which his wife inhabits. She hides in the 'more recondite toe' of the second shoe.
Mood: Confined, peculiar, a makeshift home.
The giant's wife lives here. She hides here when the giant calls for his 'fork'.