Chapter 4: The Giant
"A giant?!" Conner asked in alarm.
"A giant?!" Roy asked in the same voice.
"A giant?!" Terry asked also.
"A giant." Bruce said as he nodded his head.
"Bigger than forty men." Clark said.
"Wow." Roy said.
"A giant that had the power to turn himself into anything, man or beast." Clark said.
"Wow." Conner said.
"It was the giant that kidnapped the princesses and brought ruin to Happy Valley." Clark explained.
"But why did the giant want to kidnap the princesses?" Conner asked.
"Because he was cruel and selfish." Clark explained. "He didn't care what happened to the valley. He just wanted someone to sing him to sleep and keep house for him."
"Couldn't he have just done it himself?" Terry asked.
"You see son, when you're cruel and selfish, you don't like doing a lot of things for yourself." Bruce explained.
"Oh." Terry said.
"Well anyway, back to the story." Clark said.
Just after learning about the giant, they heard a loud booming voice say...
"Fee! Fi! Fo! Fum! Fee fi fo fum!"
The giant, a man in a black muscle shirt arrived bouncing a large ball.
Fee fi fo fum!
Hee hi ho hum!
I'm a most amazing guy!
A most amazing guy am I!
Fee fi fo fum!
Hee hi ho hum!
I'm stuff I'm telling you,
For here's what I can do!
I can change myself into an elf.
Fly up high like a birdie.
I can disappear into atmosphere.
'Cause I know the magic wordies.
Fi fo fee foy!
Fee fee-fee fee.
"Fi-Fi?" The giant asked after a minute. "I don't know no Fi-Fi."
He thought for a moment.
"Fee fi fo fum." The giant said. "I smell..."
The three boys hid as Tess and Laurel got close to the chest, and the giant grabbed a large pot and smiled.
"Pot roast!" The giant called out happily. "Chocolate pot roast. With pestachimo, with pestachi- with pista- With green gravy."
The giant then made himself a sandwich with some cheese Oliver was hiding behind, some lettuce Bruce was hiding in, and a large chicken leg, which Clark ended up being put into. He then poured some pepper on the sandwich which caused Clark to sneeze and cause his head to poke out.
"Um... Hi." Clark said nervously before he rushed off.
"Oh no you don't!" The giant called out. "You can't get away from Basil Karlo!"
Karlo then grabbed Clark.
"I've got ya!" Karlo said as he didn't hear anything. "I think I got ya."
Karlo then looked inside his fist.
"Yeah, I got ya." Karlo said.
"Basil..." Clark said with a smile as he gestured Karlo to look.
"What is it?" Karlo asked. "What is it?"
Karlo opened his hand as Clark walked on his life line.
"Ten, twenty, thirty, forty." Clark counted. "Boy what a lifeline."
"Well what's this here?" Karlo asked as he pointed at a spot on his lower palm.
"Oh, I can't believe it!" Clark said in mocked surprise.
"Is it bad?" Karlo asked.
"Well it says here that you can change yourself into anything." Clark said.
"Sure!" Karlo said with a wide smile. "You wanna see me? I can change myself into the darndest things! Go on, give me something. Anything."
"Anything?" Clark asked.
Anything." Karlo answered. Clark then looked around and saw a flyswatter. This gave him an idea.
"Can you change into a fly?" Clark asked.
"A cute teeny-weeny, itsy-bitsy house fly?" Karlo asked.
"That's it." Clark said. "A house fly."
"Ah, you don't want a fly." Karlo said. "How about a bunny with long pink ears?"
"Well of course if you can't do a fly then-" Clark said before Karlo conceded.
"Alright, a fly." Karlo said. "Why?"
"Well uh... Because." Clark said.
"Alright." Karlo said. "A teeny-weeny fly. With pink wings. Now for the magic wordies! Fee fi fo fum! Hee hi ho hum!"
While Karlo was doing this, Clark called Oliver and Bruce out of hiding and prepared to use the flyswatter on the giant when he instead turned into a huge pink rabbit.
"You sure you don't want a pink bunny?" Karlo asked before he noticed what they were holding. "Hey, what is this?! You think you'd fool me?"
Karlo then grabbed the three, opened the chest, pulled out Lois, and dropped the boys in, but Clark managed to get out of the giants grasp unnoticed and hold onto the chest as it was put on a high up shelf.
Things looked pretty dark for the prisoners as Karlo locked the chest as Clark climbed up and prepared to try and get the key as Karlo dropped it in his pocket. Lois then smiled and began singing a soft soothing song to get Karlo to sleep.
In my favorite dreams,
Everyone is so delightful.
No one's mean or spiteful.
In my favorite dreams.
Lois then waved for Clark to move forward as Karlo got drowsy.
Yes, and in my favorite dreams,
There my heart can go romancing.
Dancing to a heavenly theme.
But there's something else I look forward to.
It's a secret, but here's a clue.
He's my favorite you-know-who.
He's the hero of my most favorite dreams.
Clark then took a threading needle and stuck it on the floor of the self. He then used a twine he'd brought with him to go slowly down to the giant to get the key to free his friends and escape with Lois, Laurel, and Tess.
As Karlo began to fall asleep, Clark landed on his shoulder and began to walk down.
"In his right breast pocket, you'll find the key." Lois sang, helping Clark out, and Clark nodded and began making his way to Karlo's right breast pocket. "The right breast pocket. Go carefully."
Lois then gasped when Clark fell in, but Clark was alright and was about to pull the key out when it got caught on a snuff box, so Clark had to give an almighty tug to free it, and that caused the whole thing of snuff to be released, and Clark let out a huge sneeze.
This woke Karlo up, and he yelled, "I'll smash- AHCHOO!"
Karlo then slammed his pocket and looked inside but no one was there.
"Huh." Karlo said. "Nightmare."
He then went back to sleep as Clark climbed back up the thread and made it to the shelf with the key, barely.
"He made it!" Bruce called out from the chest as he watched the whole thing from the key hole.
"He did?" Oliver asked. "Great. Here he comes with the key."
"Let me have it, Clark!" Bruce called out and accidentally got knocked in the mouth by the key.
Clark then freed the two.
Things looked bright for the six teenagers as they left with Lois, Laurel and Tess, but Clark wasn't really to take chances. He tied Karlo's shoes together in case he woke up, which he did. Clark then finished tying the shoes and rushed off with his friends. While his friends rushed off to the beanstalk, Clark used a wine bottle cork to toss him to the beanstalk as his friends already managed to get there, and they were closely followed by Karlo. The six then hurried down the beanstalk as Bruce and Clark grabbed a saw and began cutting the beanstalk down as Oliver moved the girls as far away as possible. As Karlo was halfway down, the beanstalk was finally cut in two, and Karlo fell, screaming his head off. He smashed into the ground leaving a large indent on the ground, killing himself in the process.
"Thank you." Lois said to the boys, but particularly to Clark.
"You were all very brave." Laurel added.
So with the princesses' return, happiness returned to Happy Valley, and the spot where Karlo fell became a grassy hill that remained a preservation in honor of the three young heroes. Oliver, Bruce, and Clark ended up staying and marrying Lois, Tess, and Laurel, and they all lived happily ever after.
Roy cheered as she clapped her hands.
"Tell another one Daddy." Conner said eagerly.
"Sorry kiddo, but your mom will kill me if I don't put you to sleep." Clark said. "Alright champ?"
"Okay." Conner said as he went to sleep.
"Night night." Terry said as Oliver, Bruce, and Clark left as Laurel, Tess, and Lois smiled and talked about their adventure together.
Karlo: Hey, has anyone seen a guy dressed like a bat?
Me: No, I uh... (I pass out.)
Jenny: Doug! Doug speak to me!
Karlo: What's the matter with him? Something he ate?
Robert: No, he'll be okay. Good night Basil.