Once upon a time, there was a giant called Shanaq Bin A’anaq. Unlike other giants, this one was rather sweet. He lived among the mountains all by himself. However, anytime he saw some escaped animals, he would take them back to the farmers nearby. Although he had good intentions, his body always caused massive destruction to the houses in the village.
One day Shanaq was returning some stray sheep, when the property he destroyed cost way more than the animals he brought back. The farmers were furious and had had enough. They shouted angrily at Shanaq and told him to never come back to the town again.
He was devastated and now knew what it meant to truly be alone, but he respected the farmers’ wishes and stayed away from the town and its people.
As days passed, all was quiet and calm in the village until one day, a slight earthquake occurred causing the mountains to crash over the houses. Shanaq remained loyal to the farmers and pushed away the falling rocks with his gigantic arms to save the people.
The farmers were grateful and invited Shanaq to lunch. They treated him with extreme hospitality and roasted a whole cow especially for him. They kept thanking him for saving their lives and one of the farmers named Khalid noticed how chapped and wounded the giant’s feet were and had an idea.
Khalid decided to make a giant pair of shoes from goats’ skin with the help of the other farmers. As a show of gratitude, Khalid handed over the shoes to Shanaq on behalf of the entire community. Shanaq put on the shoes, and for the first time in his life, felt a strange sensation, a warm feeling inside his chest. This new sensation was one of appreciation and love.
The conflict between the gentle giant and the farmers came to an end; and over the years as they got closer, Shanaq was crowned with a new title, “Guardian of the Mountains.”
(WRITER): Noura Tariq Abdulla Abbas Ismaeel Alkhouri
(ILLUSTRATOR): Noora Abdulrahman Abdulla Abdulrahman Al Shaikh
