Where the people grazed their cows,
There lived a Jotun by the name of Erdeflach.
It was his job to flatten the land,
He would stomp and stomp all day long,
And then,
At night,
He would stomp and stomp all night long,
For it was hard work making the ground flat.
He had no time for a rest,
He was exhausted,
So tired in fact,
That he fell asleep standing up.
Now normally this would be fine,
But on this particular day,
The Jotun had fallen asleep,
Directly in front of the sun.
He was so tall,
And his head so massive,
That he blocked out the light,
And cast his shadow across the land.
And it lasted for days.
The crops began to wilt and die,
For they had no light,
To make their food.
The smaller animals fell ill,
And began to die,
For there were no plants to eat.
The predators begun to die,
For there were no small animals to eat,
And soon enough,
The people grew scared,
For they knew they would be next,
And they only had a little grain,
And a handful of meat,
Stored away.
The local farmer dragged his horn,
To the giant,
And blew it loudly,
Hoping to wake him,
But…
Nothing happened.
The local butcher dragged his drum,
To the giant,
And banged it loudly,
Hoping to wake him,
But…
Nothing happened.
And then a mother appeared,
With her crying baby,
Struggling to sleep,
And the baby cried,
And yelled,
And the noise woke Erdeflach.
The giant looked down at the baby,
Sorry that it could not sleep,
And so he flattened the ground below,
Shaping it,
To make a comfy bed,
And he scooped up the mother,
And her baby,
And lay down in his crater,
Cuddling them both to sleep.
They slept,
And slept,
And the light shone,
Again,
And all was good once more.