Atondido Stories
The Boy Who Overcame the Giants
Once long ago, before the white man came to Canada, an orphan
boy was living alone with his uncle. He was not very happy, for
he had to work very hard, and tasks more fitted for a man's
shoulders than for a boy's were often placed upon him. When
his parents died and left him without brother or sister, his uncle
took him to his own home because there was no one else to take
care of him. But he treated him very cruelly and often he wished
to get rid of him. It mattered not how well the boy did his work
or how many fish and animals he caught, his uncle was never
satisfied, and often he beat the boy harshly and with little cause.
The boy would have run away but he did not know where to go,
and he feared to wander alone in the dark forest. So he decided
to endure his hardships as best he could.
Now it happened that in a distant village near the sea there
lived a Chief who was noted far and wide for his cruelty. He had
a wicked temper, and he was known to have put many people to
death for no reason whatsoever. More than all else, he hated
boastfulness and he had scanty patience with anyone who was
vain of his own strength. He pledged himself always to humble
the proud and to debase the haughty. The boy's uncle had heard
of this wicked ruler, and he said, "Here is a chance for me to get
rid of the boy. I will tell lies about him to the Chief."
It chanced just at this time that three giants came into the
Chief's territory. Where they came from, no man knew, but they
dwelt in a large cave near the sea, and they caused great havoc
and destruction in all the land. They ate up great stores of food,
and all the little children they could lay their hands on. The
Chief used every means to get rid of the giants, but without suc-
cess. Night after night his best warriors went to the cave by the
ocean to seek out the giants, but not a man returned. A piece of
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