# The Sleeping Giant

- Link: https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/stories-for-kids/magic-and-fantasy/the-sleeping-giant/
- Published: 2026-10-30T02:33:00+05:30
- Author: MAHENDRA MANCHIKALAPATI

[English Language Lab](https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/)/[Stories for Kids](https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/stories-for-kids/)/
[Magic & Fantasy](https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/stories-for-kids/magic-and-fantasy/)/
The Sleeping Giant

✦An original hillside fantasy

# The Sleeping Giant

A giant’s snores send the village hats sailing. Mina and her brother discover that
a familiar tune may be more useful than the loudest shout.

📖 4-minute read🍃 Ages 5–11✨ Listening and trying a different approach

[Begin reading ](https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/stories-for-kids/magic-and-fantasy/the-sleeping-giant/#sf-story-text)
[More magic & fantasy](https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/stories-for-kids/magic-and-fantasy/)

![A friendly giant sleeps on a grassy hillside while a girl and her adult brother
stand at a distance with a small wind bell and a colourful kite.](https://thecuriosi.
com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/sleeping-giant-illustration.png)

**A small tune for a very large dream**Read together · Retell · Imagine

Settle in and read at your pace

A story to read together

## The Sleeping Giant

Take your time. Let the story unfold.

The first hat landed in the baker’s flour. The second settled on the village clock.
By midday, almost every hat in the square had made an unexpected journey. Up on 
the hill, a giant was sleeping with his head on his folded hands. Each enormous 
snore rolled down the slope like a warm gust of wind. Between the gusts, the village
was perfectly peaceful.

Chapter one

### The hill that snored

Mina watched a straw hat turn three slow circles above the well. “Someone should
wake him,” she said. Her adult brother Arun went with her along the broad hillside
path. From a safe distance, they called a greeting. The giant did not move. Arun
rang a large dinner bell, but the next snore swallowed its sound. Mina noticed that
the giant smiled whenever a soft ringing came from the old watch post nearby. He
seemed to be hearing a very pleasant dream.

Chapter two

### The bell in the wind

At the watch post, they found a small wind bell swinging against a broken wooden
frame. It rang the same two notes over and over. Mina remembered a village welcome
song that began with those notes. “Perhaps his dream keeps waiting for the rest 
of the tune,” she said. Arun tapped the bell gently while she hummed the next few
notes. The giant’s fingers twitched, but he did not wake. They needed the tune to
reach him through the warm gusts without simply making more noise.

Chapter three

### A kite carries the song

Arun fixed the bell securely to the tail of Mina’s kite. They stayed on the flat
path and let the giant’s next soft snore lift it into the air. As the kite swayed,
the little bell rang. Mina sang the welcome tune from the ground, and Arun joined
her. The giant’s smile widened. One great eye opened, then the other. He sat up 
slowly, careful not to shake the hillside. “I have been trying to remember that 
song for three days,” he said. “In my dream, it would never reach the end.”

Chapter four

### The return of the hats

The giant listened when they explained the flying hats. He apologised and helped
gather them from the clock, the trees, and one very surprised scarecrow. Then he
repaired the watch-post frame so its bell could move freely again. When he needed
his next rest, he chose a sheltered hollow facing away from the village. Mina’s 
kite returned to its ordinary job, though the little bell stayed on its tail for
a while. On windy days, villagers heard its tune above the roofs and smiled. The
smallest sound in the sky reminded them of the day a song had reached where shouting
could not.

The end

### Story path

[01The hill that snored](https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/stories-for-kids/magic-and-fantasy/the-sleeping-giant/#sf-chapter-the-hill-that-snored)
[02The bell in the wind](https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/stories-for-kids/magic-and-fantasy/the-sleeping-giant/#sf-chapter-the-bell-in-the-wind)
[03A kite carries the song](https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/stories-for-kids/magic-and-fantasy/the-sleeping-giant/#sf-chapter-a-kite-carries-the-song)
[04The return of the hats](https://thecuriosi.com/english-language-lab-for-kids/stories-for-kids/magic-and-fantasy/the-sleeping-giant/#sf-chapter-the-return-of-the-hats)

### Word basket

**gust**a short, strong movement of air

**sheltered**protected from wind or weather

**familiar**known or recognised from before

**sway**to move gently from side to side

**Read it together**

This is an original fantasy with a make-believe giant. Try reading the snores and
the bell notes in different voices, and notice the clues Mina listens for.

## After the final page

There is no single right answer. Invite young readers to notice, wonder and imagine.

Remember

What happened whenever the giant snored?

Think

Why did Mina think a song might help?

Imagine

What other small sound could become important in a magical adventure?

**Make something:** Create a short sound story using claps, taps, and a humming 
tune. Give each sound a character or event, then perform the story for someone.

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