How Hans the Giant Became a Woodsman

Englishstory12.blogspot.com - Hans the giant decided to work as a woodcutter. On his first day, however, he was not even interested in trying to make a good impression. In the morning, when his colleagues came to wake him to start working in the woods, he just stayed in bed. When he finally did decide to get up, the first thing he did was to make chick-pea soup, and then he ate the entire potful. Chick-peas were the secret source of his enormous strength! Then off he went into the woods, pulled up the two biggest trees he could find, and loaded them onto his cart.

On the way back, Hans found the path blocked by a barrier of fallen trees. But it only took a moment for him to decide what to do: he simply lifted his cart, the two trees, and the horse, high above his head, and set them down on the other side.

The owner of the woodyard was delighted to see Hans back before anybody else, with two huge trees. Hans, however, did not spend any time chatting. He went back to bed.

When the rest of the woodsmen arrived back, they went at once to complain to the owner. “'Hans is still in bed!” they said, “True,” said the owner, “but while he's there he still manages to get a little work done.” And he pointed to the two enormous tree trunks in the woodyard.