Night-time

NIGHT-TIME

Once upon a time, there was a dark night-time giant. A fierce and dangerous creature, he would prowl through the woods in the darkness looking for people or small animals to catch and crunch

One day he set out in day-light, thinking it might be easier to catch people in the sunshine. But as soon as he walked across a field, a whole cloud of purple butterflies came whirling over to him attracted by the stars and shadows on his face and landed on his skin. The giant had never met anything like this before. He hated these insects with their beautiful colours and fluttering wings.

“GET OFF ME!” he roared. But butterflies are deaf and didn’t hear what he said!

Night-time grabbed up a stick and swung it, trying to hit the butterflies. But all he hit was his own nose!

Then he jumped into the stream that runs through the wood and sunk right down to the bottom. He had forgotten he couldn’t swim and even though the water killed the butterflies, it killed him too. Night-time’s body floated on the pond covered with the remains of drowned butterflies

The other Giants collected the body of their friend and buried it deep in the woods. The next summer strange flowers grew there and on one magical morning they opened beautiful purple flowers and all the butterflies of the woods came to visit the Giant who had been scared of them

Night-time’s Grave is the most secret, most special place in all the Wood and very few people ever find it

from "The Story of the Trees", Pupils from Hawthornden Primary School, Lord Ancrum's Wood, Dalkeith, 2013