The Giant and the Little Brown Mouse
Once upon a time,
There was a lonely giant.
He was the last giant.
Because he was so big and so different,
All the animals were afraid.
Birds would leave their trees.
Foxes would leave their dens.
⸻
One day, the giant sat in the middle of an open field,
resting against a single tree.
Not an animal in sight.
The giant would cry and cry
Because he was so alone.
⸻
Then suddenly, he saw the grass move.
He thought to himself,
It’s not the wind… could it be… maybe a small thing?
Quietly and carefully,
The giant lay on his chest
And lowered his eyes to the ground.
⸻
He saw a little brown mouse,
sitting there, chewing and turning a nut,
unaware of the giant.
⸻
Suddenly, the mouse stopped.
He slowly lowered the nut to the ground
and raised his head to the sky,
sniffing the air.
The mouse’s eyes grew wide when he saw the giant,
And he started to move.
The giant’s eyes dropped with sadness,
But he didn’t make a sound.
⸻
The mouse, curious why this large creature
looked so sad and still,
held his spot.
He picked up his nut and took a small bite,
keeping his eyes on the giant.
Then another.
And another.
Still, the giant didn’t move.
⸻
The mouse extended his tiny hands toward the giant
And asked in his small mouse voice:
“Would you like a taste?”
⸻
The giant, surprised and excited,
replied as softly and quietly as he could:
“No thank you, little mouse.
I just wanted to watch you for a while.
It’s been so long since I saw another animal.”
⸻
Mouse tilted his head.
“What do you mean? Where are all the other animals?”
“They all run away from me,”
Said the giant.
“I think I scare them.”
⸻
“Why would they be scared? You are very nice,”
Said the mouse.
“I think it’s because I’m so big and different,”
said the giant,
with tears in his eyes.
“Well, that’s silly. I’m different too,”
Laughed mouse.
⸻
They sat in silence for a few minutes.
Then the giant asked,
“Um… little mouse… would you like to hear a story?”
“Oh yes, please!” said the mouse excitedly.
He scooted a little closer with his nut
And sat at attention.
⸻
“A long time ago,
before the memory of little creatures,
There were many of my kind,”
Began the giant.
“The animals of the wild would help us gather
and spread seeds and nuts,
and from them the forests grew.”
⸻
“WOW! I didn’t know there were other giants,”
Said mouse.
“Oh yes,” said the giant.
“And we were great friends with the wilds.”
⸻
The giant’s eyes drifted upward
As he remembered.
“The birds would fly ahead and search for good soil.
The foxes would dig little hollows in the earth,
just the right size for seeds.
Deer would walk the paths we made,
pressing the ground so the roots could grow strong.”
⸻
He gave a soft sigh,
half-smile, half-sad.
“Even the wind helped us.
We would sing together—giants and animals—
And the wind would carry the music through the trees.”
Mouse’s eyes sparkled as he listened.
⸻
“Back then, the world was full of voices—big and small.
No one was alone.”
“What happened?” the mouse asked quietly.
⸻
The giant didn’t speak for a while.
He just looked out across the empty field,
His memory still full of the songs, the laughter,
and the friends that once were.
⸻
The mouse stayed quiet too.
He didn’t rush to fill the silence.
He just sat beside the giant’s hand,
nibbling slowly, thinking.
⸻
After a while, the mouse spoke.
“I don’t know where the others went,” he said.
“But maybe they didn’t forget.
Maybe they just don’t remember how things used to be.”
⸻
The giant gave a small nod,
Though his eyes still looked far away.
The wind brushed gently through the grass.
It curled around the giant’s shoulder,
rustled the tree above them,
and carried a faint sound—
not a voice, not a word—
But something like a sigh of memory.
⸻
The mouse perked up.
He glanced at the trees.
“Did you hear that?”
The giant didn’t answer,
But his eyes slowly softened.
A bird landed high in the branches above.
Not close.
But not gone either.
⸻
The mouse leaned gently against the giant’s hand.
“You’re not alone,” he said.
The giant looked down.
The mouse was so small—
A little brown speck in a big, quiet world.
But he was warm.
And he stayed.
⸻
The giant didn’t speak.
He didn’t need to.
He just laid his hand in the grass beside the mouse,
and they stayed there
together
As the wind curled once more through the trees.
⸻
A new friendship grew from a nut,
and new adventures would blossom
For seasons to come.
Once upon a time,
There was a lonely giant.
He was the last giant.
Because he was so big and so different,
All the animals were afraid.
Birds would leave their trees.
Foxes would leave their dens.
⸻
One day, the giant sat in the middle of an open field,
resting against a single tree.
Not an animal in sight.
The giant would cry and cry
Because he was so alone.
⸻
Then suddenly, he saw the grass move.
He thought to himself,
It’s not the wind… could it be… maybe a small thing?
Quietly and carefully,
The giant lay on his chest
And lowered his eyes to the ground.
⸻
He saw a little brown mouse,
sitting there, chewing and turning a nut,
unaware of the giant.
⸻
Suddenly, the mouse stopped.
He slowly lowered the nut to the ground
and raised his head to the sky,
sniffing the air.
The mouse’s eyes grew wide when he saw the giant,
And he started to move.
The giant’s eyes dropped with sadness,
But he didn’t make a sound.
⸻
The mouse, curious why this large creature
looked so sad and still,
held his spot.
He picked up his nut and took a small bite,
keeping his eyes on the giant.
Then another.
And another.
Still, the giant didn’t move.
⸻
The mouse extended his tiny hands toward the giant
And asked in his small mouse voice:
“Would you like a taste?”
⸻
The giant, surprised and excited,
replied as softly and quietly as he could:
“No thank you, little mouse.
I just wanted to watch you for a while.
It’s been so long since I saw another animal.”
⸻
Mouse tilted his head.
“What do you mean? Where are all the other animals?”
“They all run away from me,”
Said the giant.
“I think I scare them.”
⸻
“Why would they be scared? You are very nice,”
Said the mouse.
“I think it’s because I’m so big and different,”
said the giant,
with tears in his eyes.
“Well, that’s silly. I’m different too,”
Laughed mouse.
⸻
They sat in silence for a few minutes.
Then the giant asked,
“Um… little mouse… would you like to hear a story?”
“Oh yes, please!” said the mouse excitedly.
He scooted a little closer with his nut
And sat at attention.
⸻
“A long time ago,
before the memory of little creatures,
There were many of my kind,”
Began the giant.
“The animals of the wild would help us gather
and spread seeds and nuts,
and from them the forests grew.”
⸻
“WOW! I didn’t know there were other giants,”
Said mouse.
“Oh yes,” said the giant.
“And we were great friends with the wilds.”
⸻
The giant’s eyes drifted upward
As he remembered.
“The birds would fly ahead and search for good soil.
The foxes would dig little hollows in the earth,
just the right size for seeds.
Deer would walk the paths we made,
pressing the ground so the roots could grow strong.”
⸻
He gave a soft sigh,
half-smile, half-sad.
“Even the wind helped us.
We would sing together—giants and animals—
And the wind would carry the music through the trees.”
Mouse’s eyes sparkled as he listened.
⸻
“Back then, the world was full of voices—big and small.
No one was alone.”
“What happened?” the mouse asked quietly.
⸻
The giant didn’t speak for a while.
He just looked out across the empty field,
His memory still full of the songs, the laughter,
and the friends that once were.
⸻
The mouse stayed quiet too.
He didn’t rush to fill the silence.
He just sat beside the giant’s hand,
nibbling slowly, thinking.
⸻
After a while, the mouse spoke.
“I don’t know where the others went,” he said.
“But maybe they didn’t forget.
Maybe they just don’t remember how things used to be.”
⸻
The giant gave a small nod,
Though his eyes still looked far away.
The wind brushed gently through the grass.
It curled around the giant’s shoulder,
rustled the tree above them,
and carried a faint sound—
not a voice, not a word—
But something like a sigh of memory.
⸻
The mouse perked up.
He glanced at the trees.
“Did you hear that?”
The giant didn’t answer,
But his eyes slowly softened.
A bird landed high in the branches above.
Not close.
But not gone either.
⸻
The mouse leaned gently against the giant’s hand.
“You’re not alone,” he said.
The giant looked down.
The mouse was so small—
A little brown speck in a big, quiet world.
But he was warm.
And he stayed.
⸻
The giant didn’t speak.
He didn’t need to.
He just laid his hand in the grass beside the mouse,
and they stayed there
together
As the wind curled once more through the trees.
⸻
A new friendship grew from a nut,
and new adventures would blossom
For seasons to come.
