Once upon a time, at the end of a small, isolated village, there was an old-looking house.The house was large and surrounded by a high fence, so that from the outside you could hardly see inside.People said there was a strange person living there – a very old woman, whom they called “The Witch”.
No one knew where she came from or what she looked like.All they knew was that she was busy in the yard every day, and that smoke of various colors often came out of the house.Some people said that it was her making medicine because she had an old headache.
Although she never hurt anyone or did anything bad, the villagers were still afraid of her.Because this person never talked to others, she was not good-looking, and her eyes were cold, which made people a bit scared at first glance.So everyone called her the “Wicked Witch” behind their backs.Even the bravest people in the village would speed up their steps when they passed by her yard, not daring to look at her.
One day, a very tall man came to the village.He looked like a giant and the ground shook when he walked.This giant asked a child, “Little friend, do you know where the house of the woman who lives in the compound is?I want to go and give her a hand and be her servant.”
The child was surprised to hear this and asked, “Why would you want to go and do something for her?”
The giant just shook his head and didn’t say anything.So the child pointed to the end of the village and said, “Right over there, that biggest yard is her home.”
And so, the giant moved into that mysterious compound and became the witch’s servant.
Giant’s work: care and caution
The witch lived a very quiet life.She didn’t like sound. Even the slightest rattle would give her a headache.And she happened to have a chronic headache problem, so she was especially sensitive to noise.
Once, the giant accidentally touched the pot, making a “clunk” sound.The witch immediately covered her head and cried out in pain.Another time, the giant saw a kitten jumping onto the window sill and couldn’t help but laugh out loud, resulting in the witch’s headache again.
So the witch said to him, “If you can’t be quiet, then don’t stay here.”
The giant heard this and had to live more carefully.He had to walk lightly, and he had to do things lightly.Slowly he learned to float along like a feather without making a sound at all.
As the days went by, the yard became quieter and quieter.
A laugh that made the giant lose his voice
One day, the giant was sitting in the yard, resting.Suddenly, a little bird flew over, landed on his nose and tickled him with its claws.The giant couldn’t help but burst out laughing – the first time he had laughed so much since he came here.
But trouble followed.The witch heard the laughter and had a terrible headache attack and was very angry.She cast a spell that confiscated the giant’s voice.
From then on, the giant could not make any sound.The whole yard became even quieter, as if no one lived there at all.
The black hawk came to talk and said strange things
One day a black hawk flew into the yard.It had come to bring water to the witch.After delivering the water, it saw the giant sitting there alone and felt lonely, so it said, “Hey, giant, even though you can’t talk, I can talk, so let’s have a chat.”
Black Hawk then said, “You know what?I don’t give you and the animals the same water every time.The pigs drink the dirty water they get from the mud puddles, and the sheep drink the water from the pond where the green rhinoceros bathes.Only the witch herself drinks the cleanest mountain water.”
After saying this, the black eagle saw that the giant did not react much, and feeling that it was not interesting, he flew away.
That night, the giant secretly tasted the water that the witch had given him to drink, and found that the taste was actually not as bad as the black eagle had said.He had some doubts in his heart, but because he had no voice, he could only silently keep these thoughts to himself.
Day after day, carrying wood
Every day, the witch arranged for the giant to do one thing: carry a pile of wood from the east side of the yard to the west side, and then back again.Day after day, year after year, the giant kept repeating this task.
Without a voice, he could only see and hear with his eyes.He saw the shoots on the trees growing, and heard the birds singing in the forest.Whenever he wanted to exclaim, “Wow, it’s beautiful!”he found that he could not speak.This feeling was very hard for him, and his heart grew a little bit bigger.
The huge heart was a burden to the giant.He began to remind himself, “I can’t go on like this, or I won’t be able to hold it.”
However, he couldn’t control his feelings.The more he suppressed it, the more his heart swelled and grew.Finally, one day, his heart became so big that he couldn’t even move wood.
When the witch saw this, she was very angry and said to the giant, “Go away, I don’t want to see you anymore.”
So the giant left the yard and went deep into the forest.No one knows what became of him.
Black Hawk visited again and revealed the secret
One day, the Black Hawk flew in again to bring water.This time it noticed that the giant was gone and the courtyard was quieter than before.It couldn’t help but say to the witch, “Gee, it’s really quiet now that your housekeeper is gone.”
When the witch heard this, she immediately got angry and said, “Who told you to care if he was a steward or not?He’s just a servant!”
Black Eagle hurriedly explained, “I just heard that there was a bad guy named Black Wolf who came to attack you ten times before, and it was the giant who drove the other away.”
The witch’s face changed after hearing this.She had never known about this.She began to wonder: so someone had been protecting her all along?
The black eagle saw her face change and hurriedly flew away.
When the black eagle was gone, the witch suddenly felt a familiar headache coming on.She was horrified, for it had been a long time since this kind of sickness had struck her.The more she thought about it, the sadder she became, and she couldn’t stop the tears from flowing down her face, and she continued to cry all day, if not for days.
Her tears slowly merged into a small river that flowed down the wind and deeper into the forest.
Tears saved the giant and changed his fate
After leaving the compound, the giant kept wandering in the forest.He was always thirsty, and no matter how much water he drank, it never quenched his thirst.
One day, he found a sparkling river deep in the forest.The river water gave off a familiar odor, like the tears of a …… witch.
He bent down and drank the first mouthful of water, and instantly his thirst was quenched; drinking the second mouthful of water, his body was much lighter; drinking the third mouthful of water, he actually opened his mouth and uttered the words, “What a thirst quencher!”
He looked at his hands in amazement as he realized he could speak!
Something even more amazing happened.His body began to change, and his heart suddenly cracked open with a bang, dropping a hard shell.A golden light came out of the heart and lit up the whole forest.
When the light dissipated, the giant disappeared.Standing there was a handsome young man, originally a prince, who had been turned into a giant by a curse and was wandering around.
At the same time, the witch, far away at the end of the village, disappeared in a burst of golden light.No one has seen her since.
A new life began
The prince, who had regained his identity, returned to his old yard.When people passed by, they often heard wonderful singing and joyful laughter inside.Sometimes a pretty girl could still be seen watering and planting flowers in the yard, her eyes gentle and kind.
Some say that’s the witch that once was, only now she’s no longer the lonely and cold woman she once was.
The truth behind the story
This story is a fairy tale on the surface, but it’s really about two lonely people.
The witch isn’t really “evil”, she’s just closed off because of her past experiences.She is afraid of human contact, so she chooses to live away from people.But she also needs care and understanding.
The giant isn’t really a monster either, he’s a cursed prince.He chose to take care of the witch actually out of the goodness of his heart and a sense of duty.Even after losing his voice and enduring pain, he still insists on guarding the lonely one.
In the end, they accomplished self-redemption through their companionship and devotion to each other.The witch’s tears not only saved the giant, but also released her own suppressed emotions for many years.And after the giant drinks the tears, he finds his voice and identity, as well as his life.
This story tells us one thing:
Everyone has their own hardships, don’t judge others so easily.
Often times, all we see is the appearance or behavior of others, but we don’t know what they are going through behind the scenes.Maybe they just need a little understanding and patience.
Just like the witch in the story, she looks cold and heartless, but it’s actually because she’s so lonely; the giant looks silly doing a boring job, but he’s actually silently guarding someone in need.
As long as we are willing to approach others and try to understand their stories, we will realize that there are not so many “bad guys” in the world, but only hearts that have not been understood.
