Today I’m going to tell a short story from Grimm’s Fairy Tales called The Giant and the Tailor.This story sounds a little bit like a myth, but it is actually about how a man can rely on his own cleverness to find a way out of difficulties and finally succeed in changing his destiny.
Story Begins: A Little Tailor Who Likes to Brag
Once upon a time, there was a small tailor who was not a particularly capable craftsman, nor did he have any special skills.But he had a “specialty” – he could brag.For example, people asked him, “What can you do?”He would say: “I can make clothes, cook, move mountains, fight monsters …… in short, everything!”Although he talked a lot, in fact, he couldn’t even sew a complete dress.
But he was quite confident in himself, thinking that if his mouth was good enough, he could break into the world.So one day, he put a small bag on his back and left home, ready to see the outside world and make a living in the meantime.
Along the way, he walked and walked, through the fields, over the mountains, wherever he went, without a goal or a plan.That morning, the sun is very good, he saw a tall mountain in front of him, the mountain is full of trees, it looks black.In the middle of the trees, there seemed to be another particularly tall tower that rose straight up into the sky.
The tailor became interested at first glance and thought, “What is that place?Is that where the treasure is hidden?”So he plucked up his courage and continued on his way.
The closer he got, the stranger he felt, because the “tower” actually moved!And it made a rumbling sound, like thunder.
“Ouch!”The tailor was so scared that he almost jumped up, “This isn’t a tower, it’s a person!”
It turned out that what stood in front of him wasn’t a tower at all, but a large giant that was over ten meters tall!This giant’s body was bigger than a house, and his voice was as deafening as thunder.
Meeting the Giant: An Unexpected Job Offer
The giant looked down at the tiny tailor and asked loudly, “Who are you?What are you doing here?”
The tailor was terrified, but still put on his composure and shouted with all his strength, “I’m looking for something to eat.”
When the giant heard this, he said, “You want to eat?Then come and work for me, and I can feed you.”
The tailor thought, “There’s nothing else to do anyway, so it would be good to get a meal first.”So he agreed.
The giant said, “There are 365 days in a year, plus an extra day if it’s a leap year.If you work a full year, I’ll pay you for 366 days of labor, how’s that?”
The tailor’s mouth said, “Fine, fine.”But in his heart, he was thinking, “I’m not going to work that long, I’ll just slip away when I get the chance.”
And so the tailor became the giant’s servant.
The Tailor’s “Superpowers” Scared the Giant
At first, the giant asked the tailor to fetch some water to drink.When the tailor heard this, he said, “That’s too easy, I’ll bring the well and the spring together.
The giant was shocked to hear this, “Is this man really capable?Can he move the whole well?”
Then the giant asked the tailor to cut down some trees to make a fire for cooking.The tailor began to brag again, “Cut down a few trees?I can cut down the whole forest in one breath!”
The giant got even more nervous: “Is this guy a man or a god?How powerful is he?”
Later, the giant asked him to go and catch some wild boars and come back to roast them for dinner.The tailor said again, “Catch a few?I can finish off a bunch at once!”
The giant was completely flustered and thought, “We can’t keep this man, what if he finishes me off one day too?”
Giant Designs to Get Rid of Tailor
As he slept at night, the giant kept thinking of ways to get rid of this terrible servant.After thinking about it, an idea finally came to him.
Early the next morning, the giant took the tailor to a swampy area where many willow trees grew.The giant pointed to a willow tree and said to the tailor, “I have heard that you are very powerful, can you bend this tree?”
When the tailor heard this, he immediately patted his chest and said, “No problem!Watch me!”
After saying that, he climbed up the tree in three tries, sat on a branch, and then held his breath, trying to make himself heavier so that the branch would be bent.
Sure enough, the branch slowly bent.The tailor was so proud of himself that he thought, “Haha, I’ve won again!”
But he forgot that he was just an ordinary man and couldn’t hold his breath for that long.It wasn’t long before he couldn’t help but exhale, and his body became lighter all of a sudden.As a result, the branch of the tree gave him a sharp flick and sent him up into the sky with a swoosh, flying far, far away, never to be seen again.
When the giant saw this, he was overjoyed, and thought to himself, “At last I have sent this horrible fellow away.”
Why is this story worth reading?
After reading this story, I think the little tailor didn’t win the giant because of his strength, but because he was smart, brave and knew how to take advantage of his opponent’s weakness.He knew he couldn’t beat the giant, so he responded in his own way – by using words to scare the opponent into scaring himself.
This makes me think that in real life, we also often encounter opponents who are much stronger than us, such as difficulties in study, pressure at work, or even conflicts in interpersonal relationships.When facing these difficulties, many people will choose to escape or give up, but if we can respond calmly and skillfully like the little tailor, we may be able to find a way out.
Moreover, this story also tells us that sometimes the people who seem to be the weakest can do the strongest things instead.The little tailor was short and didn’t have any special skills, but by his wisdom and courage, he managed to make a powerful giant feel afraid and even got rid of the danger in the end.
The Truth Behind the Story
Although this story is simple, it conveys several meaningful truths:
- Courage is more important than strength.
The little tailor had no super power and was not a warrior, but he dared to face the giant and express himself.It was this courage that won him the initiative. - Wisdom can make up for shortcomings.
Each of us has our own shortcomings, but that doesn’t mean we can’t succeed.The little tailor didn’t have the strength, but he knew how to use his wisdom to solve the problem and finally achieved his goal. - Don’t be easily intimidated by appearances.
The giant looks scary, loud and tall, but in fact his mind is not flexible.We may encounter such “giants” in our lives, be it an authority figure, a difficult problem, or some seemingly insurmountable obstacles.At this point, we need to learn to see the essence and not be intimidated by the surface. - It is important to be optimistic.
The little tailor laughed at challenges along the way, and he never panicked, even when facing giants.This positive and optimistic attitude was one of the keys to his ability to succeed.
What can we learn from this?
As an ordinary person, we may not be as eloquent or bold as the Little Tailor, but we can learn and exercise to become more confident and capable of facing various challenges in life.
For example:
When you encounter a problem, don’t retreat in a hurry, think about whether there is another way first;
When communicating with others, learn to express your own ideas instead of being submissive;
When facing the strong, do not feel inferior; with the right approach, we can also win respect.
The story of the little tailor tells us that real strength comes not from appearance, but from inner firmness and wisdom.
To summarize
The Brave Little Tailor is not only a funny fairy tale, it is more like a small class about growth and self-improvement.It teaches us:
- Courage and wisdom are more important than brute strength;
- Everyone has the potential to be a protagonist in life;
- There is no problem that cannot be solved as long as we are willing to try.
- I hope that everyone who reads this story can get a little inspiration from it, even if it’s just a little motivation to change themselves.After all, life is like an adventure, only bravely take the first step, in order to see a different landscape.
If you have faced things that make you afraid, you may want to learn from the little tailor, with your wisdom and courage to meet the challenge.Perhaps the next “giant” will be easily defeated by you!
