Creatures we can’t understand doing things we can just about fathom

A young girl giant strolling across the sky saw an orange and decided to lick it.  She found it was nice and so licked it more and more, and gradually she began to lick the orange away.

Slowly she ate more and more of it, until her father saw what she was doing and said, “You mustn’t eat that in daytime.  All the little people on the world below use that orange as a way of staying warm.  Put it back at once.”

The young giant was unhappy to have caused a problem, and besides she didn’t like to be told off by her dad.  But she couldn’t put the orange back because she had already licked some of it.  So she asked her dad to help.

“Come on,” said the giant dad, seeing his daughter was worried.  “We can put it back bit by bit, so those funny little people on the planet will hardly notice.

For the next five minutes the giant and his daughter rebuilt the orange bit by bit until it was back to the round orange that it was before.

When the job was done the giant and his daughter looked at the orange giving out its light for the little people below, and they were happy that the problem had been resolved.  “Now promise me you won’t do that again,” said the giant, and his daughter agreed.

“And one more thing, go and tell all your brothers and sisters about this and make them promise that they won’t ever lick the orange in the sky.”

Dutifully the giant’s daughter did this, and eventually she told everyone except one of her brothers as he was away on holiday.  He never got the message not to eat the big orange in the sky, and two years later he came back and the problem started again.

Of course, that story isn’t a classic myth but it has some of the basic ingredients of something taken from our life and then creatures we can’t understand doing very human like things while living up in the sky (or sometimes underground).

Myths and legends are part of our heritage; tales of strange creatures doing human like things.  Which is why we have produced the book Understanding Myths and Legends containing 27 stories from countries around the World.  Stories that can be used to support topic work in history and RE or used as part of a unit of work in literacy.

For more information or to order Understanding Myths and Legends for £19.99 as a printed book, £12.99 as an e-pdf, or both for £24.19, please visit:

 https://www.brilliantpublications.co.uk/book/understanding-myths-and-legends-415

Alternatively, you can place an order:

  • over the phone on 01449 766629
  • by email to orders@tradecounter.co.uk
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  • by post to Brilliant Publications, Mendlesham Industrial Estate, Norwich Road, Mendlesham, Suffolk, IP14 5ND.