Another brilliant piece from a GUNNAS WRITING MASTERCLASS writer
Once upon a time there was a very small giant. He was so small that everyone called him a dwarf. But he knew better. He was definitely a giant. A small giant maybe, but still a giant. He knew he was a giant because his father was a giant, so he reasoned he must be a giant too. At first he was confused when people referred to him as a dwarf. He initially thought a dwarf must be special kind of giant, so he was very happy to be called so. But then one day a man came by who was neither a dwarf nor a giant. His confusion came about because this man was smaller than his father but bigger than him.
Every day he asked his mother; ‘How come that man is bigger than me but he’s not called a giant. Dad is a giant, I’m a giant but he’s not. Why is that?’
His mother didn’t know what to say.
Because of that he kept asking her, and she could never answer him.
‘But I’m a giant, Dad’s a giant, so he must be a giant. Why do they say he’s not? It must be a conspiracy to make him think he’s small, when he’s really big.’
He felt sorry for the little big man. He tried to think what he could do for him.
And because of that he formulated an idea.
‘Why don’t we call everyone a giant. Then he will be a giant, dad will be giant and I will be a giant.’
He was so enamoured of the idea he went up to his mum.
‘Mum, I’m going to call him a giant. Then everyone will know he’s a giant, and they will see we are all giants.’
His mother smiled.
‘That’s a wonderful idea. Why don’t you go to him and tell him he really is a giant. Then he will know it himself.’
So the little giant boy went up to the other man and told him so. He repeated his statement several times.
Until finally finally the other man said; ‘I’m not a giant, I don’t want to be a giant, and I hope one day you will see you are not a giant either. There is more to life than being a giant. We are all different. Some of us are giants, some of us are dwarfs, and some of us are in between. You are a dwarf. You must learn to accept that and learn to live with it.
The boy was devastated. Not a giant. Of course he was a giant. How could this man say otherwise?
He went to his room and sat on his bed and wept. Surely they could see he was a giant. His whole family was giants. He was one too and he didn’t care what anyone said. When his mother came in to see what he was up to he said proudly;
‘I’m a giant, just a different one. I don’t care what that man says.’
His mother was so proud of her son. He knew what he truly was and no one would ever take that from him.