Allegory of the Giants

In the Great Mountain Castle live a hundred and one giants. They stayed snug in their hearth, with just an exit and entrance. In this Great Mountain Castle there wasn’t a window, only small cracks in the roof that let in fresh air flow.

This Great Mountain Castle was surrounded by trees, on which the sweetest of honeys was manufactured by bees. Roosting on the branches were birds with orange breasts, they sat warming their eggs atop of their nests. Growing beneath on the ground were large purple berries, which were the delighted favorites of the Cornercub Fairies.

For a thousand and one years these giants have lived in harmony; their ancestors gathered and stored the food they eat now, you see.

Not a single one has known hunger or thirst because for their whole existence they’ve been babied and nursed. They had never once taken a step outside the walls, their whole lives they’d been confined to the comfort of these halls. Instead they clamber around inside, living the life that their ancestors before them would decide.

This system had stood for as long as they had known, but since food had been stored, no more food had been grown.

“The food stores we had were once full, now they’re nearly empty- look in the hull! Is there anything at all we can do, brother?” said the first and youngest giant to the other.

The second and wiser giant replied, “We are the greatest greats of this mountainside. We haven’t run out of food in a thousand and one years- we won’t run out of food until Earth itself disappears!”

The first giant shrugged, accepted this answer, and went about his way. The diminishing food store didn’t seem likely, but it would come one day.

The sun rose and set a hundred times plus one. And on this day the food stores were finally gone.

A state of panic erupted for the first time in a thousand and one years, for the giants had never come across a problem that had brought forth their greatest fears.

The first giant spoke up and said, “We should go outside the Mountain Castle in search of some bread.”

The second giant grumbled argumentatively back, “Do you hear what you’re saying? If we leave this place we would be subject to attack!”

The first giant replied, “What if we were to step outside in search of food for just a moment?”

The second giant countered, “There is none there, this thought is ignorant.” He shook his head and dissapointedly said, “You can’t understand because of your youth!”

The first giant shrugged and accepted this as truth.

For a hundred days plus one more the giants lamented their hunger and empty food store.

Finally a third giant, as young as the first, stood up and yelled, “I’m not going to sit around in this hunger and thirst!”

The second giant rolled his great black eyes, “Sit down you fool, what you want to do is very unwise!”

The third giant stood up and said nonetheless, “Look how stagnant we are here- whatever happens, I cannot digress.” The third giant passed the wiser and bowed in respect, but still headed out the door ignoring him bellow, “I object!”

The third giant came back, eyes full of awe and wonder to find the rest of his clan all torn up asunder. Some wished to leave and some wished to stay, others didn’t understand why it had to be this way. “I don’t know exactly what it is that I’ve found, but there were plants that were purple and… other things that were round!”

The first giant shook his head in disbelief at his peer, understanding that others will say desperate things in times of fear.

The second giant shrugged off his anger and calmly claimed, “This youth is lost in ignorance- for his lapse in judgement he cannot be blamed.”

The third giant furrowed his brow. They didn’t understand what was out there and he didn’t know how. “You will stay here then, and I will go. But the truth I have found you will never know.”