The Victimazation of Gog

It was early and the giant was having his coffee while overlooking his garden and watching his geese play. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw it. There was a boy coming up the beanstalk that had grown overnight and just appeared in the giant’s garden. “Jack, where did you go? If you climbed this beanstalk, you are in big trouble.” The disembodied voice faded away.

The giant pretended not to see him and instead watched Jack as he picked up the golden goose, ran and slid back down the beanstalk. A single tear escaped from the giant’s eye as he watched his goose disappear in the arms of that boy. He was my favorite, the giant thought. He took two steps and peered down the beanstalk the way the boy had gone. His goose was gone and so was Jack. He quickly thought about climbing down and seeing where the beanstalk would take him and thought against it as his size would make it nearly impossible.

“Gullinda?” the giant yelled. His wife came quickly into the kitchen and asked “what do you want, Gog?” “There was just a boy here in the garden. He came up that beanstalk and stole my favorite golden goose. I was going to follow him down and get her back but it seems dangerous.” Gullinda agreed that was not the wisest thing to do. “We have other geese, Gog.” Gog nodded his head but none of them were his favorite like she was. He was silently conceiving a plan to get her back. He knew it would involve a little stealth and would be a dangerous mission.

Gog and Gullinda went to bed early and vowed to wake at dawn and have coffee in the garden again. Gullinda made some bacon and was preparing Gog’s eggs when he thundered into the kitchen. “Did you move the magic harp?” Gullinda looked at him quizzically and said “of course not, where would I have put it?” Gog turned and left the room, stomped to the other end of their house and roared. Gullinda knew his anger had boiled over and she hoped to calm him down a bit before breakfast.

Gog did calm down some and enjoyed the breakfast his wife had made for him. He searched the house to be sure the harp had not been misplaced but he knew better. That boy from the beanstalk had taken it. He just knew it.

At this point in time, Gog decided to go down the beanstalk, dangerous or not, to see where that boy was taking his things. He wouldn’t tell Gullinda, fully knowing she would try to talk him out of it. He would wait until early morning tomorrow and climb down to retrieve his items. He was anxious to get his favorite golden goose back.

As he started his climb down, his feet were already slipping on the beanstalk and he had second thoughts about going any farther. He found a secure foothold and decided to continue. He had climbed about three quarters of the way down when he saw the boy looking up at him. Jack ran into the house and when he returned, he had an axe. He started chopping, good, strong, swift swings of the blade. Gog suddenly became aware that the beanstalk was beginning to sway. Before he could do anything, the beanstalk collapsed and Gog plummeted to the earth.

Jacks’ mom rushed outside to see what had shaken the whole house and rattled her dishes. She gasped when she saw the giant lying there. Gog groaned and hesitated to move as he felt broken all over. “Don’t try to move”, Jack’s mom said. “Let me get some water and we can figure out what to do”. Jack just stood there with his mouth hanging open. “Mom, what are you doing?” “We are going to take care of this giant that you injured”, Jack’s mom said in a lecturing voice. “He came to retrieve the items you stole from him and you just hurt him more. We are going to help him recuperate in exchange for his forgiveness.” Gog managed a weak smile.

Since the giant would not fit in their tiny house, Jack’s mom chose to care for him outside. She told Jack to fetch the tent and place it over Gog’s head so if it rained, he wouldn’t have rainwater running in his eyes. Jack’s Mom took care of Gog for days on end. It took weeks before he was strong enough to sit up. Recovery came slow since he was such a large ogre. His thoughts drifted to how he was going to get back home since the beanstalk was gone. Jack sauntered over to Gog and started a conversation. “Where did you ever find such a unique harp?” Gog chuckled and said it had been a gift from his mom on his wedding day.

Eleven long weeks later, Jack announced that he had a surprise for Gog. He helped the giant up and guided him to the other side of the house. There was a giant beanstalk that reached up into the clouds. “I grew another one so you could get home.” Gog smiled and turned to Jack. “You have turned into a very good friend, Jack.” Three days later, with his golden goose under his arm, Gog kissed Jack’s mom, hugged Jack and started up the beanstalk, looking forward to seeing Gullinda.