Folksburywoods

Theodore Gossamer was a woodsman in the village of Stoke. He would wake before dawn, head to the forest, and fell timber to earn his meager daily wage.

When the seasons turned cold, the woodsman earned extra money by collecting wild honey or buried truffles if luck was with him.

One warm autumn day, Theodore strolled through the woods, whistling a merry tune, when suddenly, he found himself being hosted high into the air.

“What is this walking in my woods?” said the giant.
“Hello, I’m dreadfully sorry. I had no idea this was your forest,” said Theodore.

“I am Rognar, and all this is mine. Maybe I eat you for being here, but I’m not fond of itsy bitsy peoples that scurry in my woods. Too many bones,” said the giant.

“That is quite right, and I’m sorry to say I am very boney these days. Perhaps you would like some of my honey below?” asked the woodsman.

“Honey? Me love sweet and smelling things to eat. You give me honey, and I let you go,” said Rognar.

“That went smoothly,” whispered Theodore.

After the giant licked the pail clean, Rognar said, “Bring me more yum yum food.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m all out of honey. However, I do have tasty truffles,” the woodsman offered.

“Truffle, what truffle me not know this food,” said the giant.

Theodore placed the bundle of truffles he had spent the day gathering into the giant’s palm. Rognar smelled the truffles, then tossed the entire bundle into his mouth, cloth and all.

“So yummy. Give me more itsy bitsy peoples, or I will crush you,” insisted the giant.

“I have no more. However, I can show you where the truffles grow, and you can eat as much as you desire,” said Theodore.

The giant was delighted to hear this and followed the woodsman. Theodore knew he couldn’t find enough truffles to satisfy the giant, so he devised a plan to trick Rognar.

“Right here, you must dig very deep to reach their nest,” said the woodsman. Theodore’s father had been a miner until the ore ran out, leaving hundreds of deep pits scattered throughout the wood.

“I use my hands to dig truffle so I not miss any,” said Rognar proudly.

He dug until he hit the wood beams covering the mine’s entrance. “Good, you have found a nest. Now all you need to do is jump and break the top, and then all the truffles are yours,” said Theodore.

Ragnar jumped high, and when his feet smashed through the beams, Rognar’s happy smile instantly turned to horror as he continued falling into the abandoned mine.

Down fell the giant until his screams could no longer be heard. “I guess it was worth a day’s work to rid this forest of another giant. Perhaps tomorrow I will have better luck,” said the woodsman as he strolled home, singing a happy tune.