The Giant and the Cobbler

Long ago, a huge giant lived in the mountains of Wales. He was very grumpy with the people of Shrewsbury, a town in England, though nobody remembers why. “I will teach them a lesson,” he grumbled. “I will block up their river, and the water will spill out all over their streets!”

So the giant dug up an enormous spadeful of earth. It was as big as a hill, and it was very, very heavy. He put the spade on his shoulder and stomped off toward Shrewsbury. He walked for miles and miles, over fields and through woods. But the giant was not very good at finding his way, and he took a wrong turn. By the afternoon, he was hot and tired, and he still could not see the town.

Just then, he met a cobbler walking along the road. A cobbler is a person who mends shoes. On his back, the cobbler carried a big sack full of old, worn-out boots and shoes. He had collected them from his customers in Shrewsbury, and he was taking them home to mend.

“You there, little man!” boomed the giant. “How far is it to Shrewsbury?” “Why do you want to go to Shrewsbury?” asked the cobbler. “I am going to drop this earth into the river,” said the giant. “Then the water will flood the town, and that will show them!”

The cobbler thought fast. “Oh dear, I can’t let that happen,” he said to himself. “All my friends and customers live in Shrewsbury.” So he put on a very tired face, and he opened his sack. “Shrewsbury?” he said. “That is a very long way from here.” “Look at all these shoes!” “I have worn out every one of them, just walking from Shrewsbury to here!”

The giant looked into the sack, and his face fell. “Then I will never get there today,” he groaned. “I am too tired to carry this load one step farther.” So he tipped the earth off his spade, right there by the side of the road. Then he scraped the mud off his boots, and he stomped back home to Wales.

The big pile of earth is still there today, and it is a tall green hill called the Wrekin. The mud from the giant’s boots made a smaller hill beside it, called the Ercall. And the people of Shrewsbury still have their river, and their dry streets, thanks to one clever cobbler.