Tiny the Giant stood in a field and shook his fists at a Strange New Thing.

‘ARE YOU A GIANT?’ he roared.

But the Strange New Thing said nothing at all. It just stood and it shook in the breeze.

No the Strange New Thing did nothing at all, so Tiny the Giant ran off.

—

Until the very next day when he’d been far away and Tiny the Giant returned.

‘ARE YOU A GIANT?’ he roared at the Thing and looked very closely indeed.

He looked very close, then more closely than that, but the Strange New Thing said nothing.

Tiny the Giant reached out to take hold…

…but he heard the sound of a chip and a chop and then he heard the rain.

Giants don’t like rain. It lands in the hair then it soaks everywhere and they don’t like that at all.

So Tiny, the Giant, ran off…

—

Until the very next day when the clouds went home and Tiny the Giant returned.

‘ARE YOU A GIANT?’ he roared

With his face pressed close and his eyes alert he saw the Strange New Thing had grown.

It had grown up and along and below and beyond, it had grown in all manner of ways.

And yet it still had nothing to say.

Tiny the Giant reached out to take hold…

…but he heard the sound of a chip and chop and then he saw the sun.

Giants don’t like the sun. It warms up the head and turns them all red and they don’t like that at all.

And Tiny the Giant ran off…

—

Until the very next day when the sun had gone, when it hid behind clouds and no longer shone and the world looked rather dark.

Now the Strange New Thing was taller than yesterday but smaller than tomorrow and Tiny the Giant wondered why.

‘ARE YOU A GIANT?’ he roared.

The Strange New thing stood firm and stood tall and had nothing, no nothing to say.

Tiny the Giant reached out to take hold…

—

…but he heard the sound of a chip and a chop and then he felt the wind.

Giants don’t like wind. It blows up the nose and then freezes the toes and they don’t like that at all. No, they don’t like that at all.

And so Tiny the Giant ran off…

—

Until the very next day when the wind had gone. When it gasped its last gust and skulked off to sulk and the sun was licking the land.

And the Strange New Thing looked ever so tall and Tiny the Giant felt small.

‘ARE YOU A GIANT?’ he roared, though he knew that the Strange New Thing really was.

—

It was taller and taller, and stranger and stronger, this thing that had sprung from the ground. With arms in abundance and hair in a mess it said nothing but it grew and it grew.

Tiny the Giant reached out to take hold…

…but he heard the sound of a chip and a chop…

…and he saw…

—

…a Woodsman.

He saw a cutter of wood who would if he could cut down the Strange New Thing.

He saw an axe as sharp as the wind, he saw a blade as bright as the sun, and he saw the Woodsman draw near.

And Tiny the Giant stood still…

—

And with a chip and a chop the Woodsman drew near and Tiny the Giant ran to hide.

He ran round the back of the Strange New Thing and he stood very still indeed.

He stood very still and he had an idea, an idea only Giants could have.

He saw how the Strange New Thing had arms full of beans and hair full of leaves and he saw how these might help him win.

So Tiny the Giant reached out…

—

And with a chip

and a chop

the Woodsman came to a stop…

…and Tiny the Giant reached out…

—

When the Woodsman was near Tiny the Giant reached out and with both of his hands on the Strange New Thing he took a firm hold and he shook.

He shook all he could and the Strange New Thing came to life.

—

He shook and he shook as the wind might shake and he gave a mighty shout out.

Tiny the Giant stood and shook the Strange New Thing at the Woodsman.

‘I AM A GIANT’ he roared.

—

The Strange New Thing, by the shine of the sun and the gust of the wind and a drink of the cold wet rain, now looked quite the Giant indeed.

And the Woodsman stood and Woodsman stared and the Woodsman shook like a leaf.

And he shook as he stood and he shook as he ran and his axe fell quick to the ground.

—

And Tiny the Giant looked up.

And up.

And Tiny the Giant looked up.

And with a smile on his face and his fists in the air, Tiny the Giant looked up.

—

‘WE ARE GIANTS’ he roared.

And Tiny the Giant climbed home.

—

Did you enjoy the story? You can buy two of the Tiny the Giant stories in beautiful paperback editions now. Illustrated throughout by Nicola Anderson.

Illustration courtesy of, and copyright, Nicola Anderson. Follow her on Twitter.