Tonička the kestrel flew down from Sandstone Peak, landed on a branch and before he could say anything, Havránek said:
“Better to stay in the air, Tonička, it looks like we’re going to have an earthquake!”
“That’s no earthquake, its Dohnát the giant”, twittered the kestrel. “He’s come down from the Jizera Mountains for some reason and has just laid down on the meadow near Jitrava. That’s why there was such a rumble. He’s frightened all the animals in the area and even the people have run away from him, far into the forest!”
“That giant should stay up in the mountains where he can’t do any damage. So what’s he doing here? I’ll go and tell him not to do anything silly and to head back home”, said Havránek and he set off to Jitrava.
When he reached the Top Cliffs, he stopped and listened carefully. From a short distance, he heard a child cry, “Heeeelp! Save yourselves, there’s a giant here!”
He descended a short way and saw a group of children from Top Saddle running to him along the hillside from Sandstone Peak. The children had gone to pick their mothers some sweet smelling lilies-of-the-valley that had begun to bloom in the valley behind the hill.
“I’m not very happy about the fact that the giant has frightened the herd of wild boar, but that can be excused. But frightening little children - not on my watch”, said Havránek and he set off towards the Goat Ridges. He turned right after the rocky peaks and continued to the large round White Rocks. He climbed up on the biggest of them and from there he had a wonderful view across the meadow where the giant was lying and all the way to the village of Jitrava.
“What on earth are you doing here?” he called to the giant. “If you’re on a trip, at least be careful where you’re walking. Every step you take makes all the rocks in the Lusatian Mountains jump! You should head home.”
Dohnát the giant fixed his gaze on Havránek and spoke with a thunderous voice.
“I’m not going anywhere, I like it here. And I like those pebbles you’re standing on most of all. They’re nice and round. I’m going to play marbles with them!” He got up, sunk his heel in the middle of the meadow and turned three times to make a hole for playing marbles. The chasm he made in the grass was big enough to swallow a horse and hay wagon.
“Look what you’ve done. How is Farmer Doubrava going to be able to sew the meadow for hay when you’ve gone and put such a great big pit in it?”, said Havránek with a slightly more conciliatory tone, because he knew that what looked like a huge pit to people was just a little hollow in the eyes of the giant. “And what’s more, it’s all downhill here. If you move just one rock, it will tumble all the way to the village and knock down all the cottages!”
“It won’t roll to the village, if I get it in the hole”, thundered Dohnát and he squatted down to flick a marble.
“And what if you miss?” asked Havránek
“I’ll never know, unless I try”, said the giant dismissively.
So things were bad. Now was not the time to make a mistake. At that moment, the wind from the cliffs suddenly brought the well-known aroma of spring honey to Havránek’s nose. That gave him an idea and he whistled for the kestrel who had been watching everything from a safe height. Tonička flew down cautiously so that the giant did not notice him and landed on Havránek’s shoulder. Havránek whispered something to the bird who then took off and flew towards the Popov Cliff. Havránek had recalled the wild forest bees that nested in the hollow in the old Tobias Pine. They regularly gave him honey for Karamelka the cake maker who had a cake shop on the square in Hrádek. He used it to make gingerbread that was famous throughout the area for its sweetness. He sold it at fairs in all the towns from Varnsdorf to Liberec. Karamelka was very happy with how business was going and had nothing but praise for the honey from the Tobias Pine. However, Havránek also took care of the wild bees as if they were a rare treasure. He knew that a bee sting was the only thing that could truly get a giant’s attention.
The giant was currently kneeling comfortably with his left knee in soft sand as his right eye lined up the shot to be used to flick the first of the White Rocks towards the hole. It seemed that nothing could stop him when an enormous humming suddenly arose from above the Goat Ridges. The swarm of bees from the Tobias Pine bore down on him like a storm cloud and as the giant moistened his thumb and index finger with saliva to help his shot, the bees flew up under his shirt.
“Ow, ow, ow! What on earth is stinging me so terribly?!” shrieked the giant, but no longer with such a thunderous voice. He stood up and started hopping around from one foot to the other in an attempt to expel that devilish force from under his shirt. Once he understood that it was not working, he forgot about playing marbles and about Havránek and ran down towards Bílý Kostel in an attempt to end his horrible torment. The attics and thatching on the cottages in Jitrava jumped with his every step. Once in the valley, he crossed the Nisa River with a single stride and scampered up the slope between Bílý Kostel and Chrastava as fast as his giant legs could move him. Once he was beyond Vítkov, Havránek could no longer see him. All that remained was the rumble of the giant’s steps in the earth beneath his feet. Once the rumbling ceased, the swarm returned and circled Havránek’s head twice as a sign that it had successfully completed its task. Then, the swarm slowly rose and disappeared above the forest.
“I don’t think we will be bothered by Dohnát the giant ever again. Sometimes a bee sting is worse than a bite from a bear,” laughed Havránek and he watched happily as people began to return to Jitrava from the forest. As he went back through the forest to the Crow Cliffs, the birds everywhere were twittering so happily that Havránek started whistling as he walked. Suddenly, his tummy rumbled and he realised that he had yet to have breakfast.
“That giant has given me an appetite,” he said to himself. “What have I got for breakfast? Oh, I know. Some bread with honey from the Tobias Pine, of course!”
