In North Wales lies an ancient road, stretching between the Island
of Anglesey in the west and the Welsh border towns to the east.One
summer's day, two red faced, ginger haired giants, trudged
along the road. As is the wont with giants, they were ill tempered and quarrelled as they walked along. They intended to build a large house for themselves on the island of Anglesey. (some variations of the legends say they were going to build a bridge.) One of the gaints carried a large stone under each arm, which would form
the window frame of the house. His wife held in her apron a bundle of smaller rocks to be used for the walls of their new home.
They set out at sunrise from Chester but had lost their way on the tricky narrow pathways. When they finally found the right road, it was steep and stony, climbing and winding into the mountains, and by now the giants had spent a long day walking under the hot summer sun and were becoming weary. Grumbling and complaining, they eventually reached the highest point of a pass between the mountain ranges and looked out toward the Island of Anglesey.
They were stopped in their tracks by the sight of a young man coming toward them, carrying a sackful of worn out leather shoes and sandals.
The giants stared down at the young man and asked him how far it was to Anglesey.
"Well," the mischievous cobbler said, opening his sack, not at all afraid of the giants, "all these shoes were new when I left there!" Of course this was not really the case and he intended to repair the shoes and sell them at the next market town.
They set out at sunrise from Chester but had lost their way on the tricky narrow pathways. When they finally found the right road, it was steep and stony, climbing and winding into the mountains, and by now the giants had spent a long day walking under the hot summer sun and were becoming weary. Grumbling and complaining, they eventually reached the highest point of a pass between the mountain ranges and looked out toward the Island of Anglesey.
They were stopped in their tracks by the sight of a young man coming toward them, carrying a sackful of worn out leather shoes and sandals.
The giants stared down at the young man and asked him how far it was to Anglesey.
"Well," the mischievous cobbler said, opening his sack, not at all afraid of the giants, "all these shoes were new when I left there!" Of course this was not really the case and he intended to repair the shoes and sell them at the next market town.
Dismayed by the belief that they still had a long journey ahead of them, the giant cursed and threw down his boulders, which stuck upright in the soft earth on either side of the track. The giantess also emptied her apron full of rocks and tipped them out on the side of the path, where they can still be seen if you walk along the old Roman Road, through Bwlch y Ddeufaen the Pass of Two Stones.I imagine there are many similar legends from around the world - do you know of a similar one referring to the area where you live?
