Six giants and a griffin, and other stories

In Short

Published in 1903 by Sarah Elizabeth Birdsall Otis Edey, Six giants and a griffin, and other stories collects imaginative tales blending childhood play with fairy-tale wonder. Young heroes like Teddy, Gertrude, Jane, and Sapphira cross into magical domains encountering talking animals, celestial royalty, and nursery rhyme characters. Whether journeying to the moon, navigating a bear-filled forest, or attending Mother Goose’s extraordinary party, these children find themselves in extraordinary adventures. The book endures through its playful blend of familiar folklore and innocent childhood perspective.

The Story

The collection begins with Teddy, a boy who loves gnomes and invents games around an old hollow oak tree. Following a rainy day indoors, he discovers a trapdoor leading underground, where a hundred blue elephants march and tiny gnomes hail him as their preserver against six fierce giants. Seeking guidance, Teddy consults Mamma Know-all, who arms him with magical oranges and strict instructions. Arriving at the Looking-glass Sea, he meets a griffin, uses an orange to trick it into eating explosive cakes, and watches the creature vanish into a green cloud. When thousands of white birds rout the colorful-haired giants, the gnomes offer Teddy kingship. Refusing the crown, he escapes back through the oak, leaving his squirrel friend behind as the adventure fades.

In "Gertrude's Visit to the Moon," a nine-year-old girl obsessed with the silvery globe escapes her bed at night. Guided by Amorita on a sled pulled by white moths, she ascends a shaft of light to the Moon Palace. There, white mice play silver instruments while a grand ballroom celebrates. The Crown Prince welcomes Gertrude with joy, promising her future royalty, before a lavish birthday feast with twelve candles unfolds.

"Jane and the Bears" follows a young girl lost in the forest who stumbles upon the Three Bears' home. Terrified at first, she soon enjoys riding Mr. Bear's broad back, playing hide-and-seek with Baby Bear, and visiting Grandmother and Red Riding-Hood. Tucked into bed by Grandmother, Jane magically finds herself whisked safely back home.

In "Sapphira and the Flying Pig," a girl building sandcastles learns her father's winged pig is locked away. A haughty cockatoo helps chew through the golden cage bars, swapping the magical animal with a lazy common pig. Sapphira rides the flying pig to the ocean, visits the Old Man of the Sea in a mother-of-pearl hall, and receives a pearl necklace before rushing back just as her absence is discovered.

The holiday spirit fills "The Christmas Trees," where glass ornaments displayed at Wanamaker's department store argue over their beauty. Purchased and hung on a grand tree, the proud ornaments face despair when maids plan to throw them away. Instead, two poor children, Jimmy and Sadie, rescue the discarded balls for baby Billy’s modest starch-box tree, filling the ornaments with humble gratitude.

Finally, "Mother Goose's Party" brings nursery rhyme figures together. Mother Goose, Jack, and Jill organize an extravagant celebration. Boy Blue collects a marvelous blackbird pie from Cinderella's palace, while children from New York join the festivities, enjoying magical food, silver bells from Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary, and a lively welcome from the birds before the bell tolls for home.

How It Unfolds

The hollow tree threshold Teddy discovers a hidden trapdoor inside his favorite ancient oak tree and descends into a subterranean world populated by anxious gnomes and marching blue elephants. He learns he must find a way to defeat six terrifying, multi-colored hair giants, prompting him to seek the vital guidance of Mamma Know-all in the steep hills.

Celestial and forest journeys Other tales whisk young protagonists away to equally extraordinary domains, such as Gertrude escaping her bed to ride white moths up a shaft of light to a glittering lunar palace. Meanwhile, Jane wanders deep into the woods to find the real, talking Three Bears, experiencing a mix of genuine fear and delightful domestic hospitality.

Clever escapes and magical swaps Narrative complications are consistently resolved through quick thinking, talking animals, and whimsical assistance, like Sapphira utilizing a magical fairy ball to distract page-boys while a proud cockatoo chews through golden cage bars. Similarly, Teddy uses enchanted orange peels that transform into cakes and boats to outwit a griffin and neutralize the towering giants.

Holiday reflection and grand celebrations The collection concludes with festive gatherings that blend pride, humility, and community joy, tracing proud department store glass balls from near-ruin in an ash can to a loving poor family's starch-box tree. Finally, Mother Goose hosts a massive celebration where nursery rhyme characters and New York children unite for a final, joyful feast.

The People

Teddy wants to explore and play games, but finds himself burdened by gnomes who expect him to kill the six giants. He overcomes his initial fear and helplessness with the squirrel's help, ultimately rejecting the gnomes' offer of kingship to return home older and wiser, if slightly bewildered.

Gertrude is a nine-year-old girl who intensely loves looking at the moon and longing for the silver sphere. Standing in her way are bedtime rules and earthly boundaries, but she transcends them to reach the Moon Palace, where the Crown Prince welcomes her with affection and promises her future royalty.

Jane wants to find the Three Bears from her picture books, but gets lost in a frightening, vast forest. Overcoming her initial terror of being eaten, she wins over Mr. Bear, Mamma Bear, and Baby Bear, returning home safely through Grandmother's bed with a newfound appreciation for listening.

Sapphira wants to visit the talking walruses at the ocean, but her father's flying pig is locked in a cage guarded by page boys. With the cockatoo's help and a fairy ball, she manages the swap, visits the Old Man of the Sea, and returns with a priceless string of pearls.

The department store glass balls want to shine above all others and prove their superior value. Standing in their way are high prices and fickle human owners who plan to discard them. Through their humbling journey to a poor family's tree, they lose their pride and find genuine happiness.

In Its Own Voice

Reflecting on the quiet comfort of maternal storytelling, the opening verse captures a child's preference for spoken imagination over printed pages:

Therefore read no longer,-- I've no heart to hear, But just something you make up, O my mother dear,--

Describing the peculiar appearance of the subterranean antagonists, the text details the colorful features of the towering threats:

Now these giants were very peculiar. Each had different colored hair, and a great deal of it,--the first one black, the second brown, the third white, the fourth yellow, the fifth red and the sixth bright green.

Contemplating the harsh realities of holiday waste, the discarded ornaments confront their sudden reversal of fortune:

The rich had bought them, and now the rich were throwing them away.

What It's Really About

The collection explores the porous boundary between childhood imagination and tangible reality, suggesting that a child's inner world possesses its own rigorous logic and emotional truth. Stories like Teddy's adventure and the glass balls' journey examine the tension between pride and humility, contrasting the cold materialism of upscale shops with genuine human connection and simple kindness. Furthermore, the book ponders the comforting intimacy of maternal storytelling, celebrating the enduring power of shared bedtime tales where ordinary children step effortlessly into extraordinary realms of folklore, nursery rhymes, and lasting wonder.

Why Read It Today

Modern readers who cherish classic children's literature, fairy-tale pastiches, and whimsical anthropomorphism will find immense charm in this turn-of-the-century collection. Reading it feels like turning the pages of a forgotten scrapbook, evoking a cozy, old-fashioned bedtime atmosphere filled with gentle humor and vivid, theatrical imagery like blue elephants and silver moon palaces. The book does not shy away from the period's class dynamics, explicitly contrasting the wealthy patrons of Wanamaker's store with destitute children scavenging in ash cans on Christmas morning, which provides a poignant look at early twentieth-century urban life. While some contemporary readers might find the narrative pacing leisurely and the moral lessons overt, what stays with you long after closing the book is the genuine warmth of its character dynamics—such as a haughty glass ornament finding true purpose in the hand of a poor baby. It is a tender, imaginative artifact that bridges the gap between classic nursery lore and individual childhood invention, rewarding anyone patient enough to sink into its gentle, nineteenth-century cadence.