Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1908-05-09

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air in all directions. Then the people
away down on the plain would look
UP and shake their heads and say,
''Tm afraid we're going to have
thunder storm! Just look at all those
great white clouds piling up over
there!'
When he had finished shaving the
giant would draw a long breath and
fill himself so full of air that he
stretched out and grew four times
bigger than he was before. He was hal
low inside you remember, just like a
rubber doll And when he opened his
mouth wide and blew the air out
again, all the people down on the
plain would hold on their hats and
run as fast as they could for home,
and cry. ooh me! Oh my! What a
thunderstorm there's going to BET"
The giant when he saw all the peo-
pie run SO fast he would shout with
glee, and Selling his shaving brush
would splash It in the lake till the
water sprinkled down on the plain
And all the people would put up their
umbrellas and run the faster.
Then the giant would shout with
glee, and leaping down from his
mountain would rush over the plain
and blow and blow and blow till he
blew all the peoples umbrellas away,
and blew all the wash off the lines
and sometimes he even blew the roofs
off the buses. All these things the
Thunderstorm Giant would pick up in
his arms and rush on over the fields,
whirling round and shouting for joy;
and he would carry them with him
away to his home in the hollow noun
tain and play with them till he fell
asleep. And when he woke and saw
the blue sky through the hole in the
top Of the mountain he would jump
up in a fifty and do the same thing
all over again.
But one day he went just little
too far. He blew away Jack Robin
sons new express wagon, handsomer
than any express wagon you ever
saw.
Now Jack Robinson was not the
sort of boy to let such thing as that
happen without saying something
about it. So bright and early the next
morning he put his soap bubble pipe
in his pocket, and taking paper bag
full of cookies to eat on the way, he
started off for the big huge mountain
to tell the Thunderstorm Giant what
he thought Of him.
He walked along the road whistling
Yankee Doodle and eating cookies till
he came to the foot Of the mountain.
Then he had to stop whistling for he
needed all his breath for climbing.
About lunch time he reached the lake
near the top of the mountain where
the giant used to shave.
'Now," he said, ''I'll have drink
And he stopped down and took some
Of the water up in his hands But he
didn't like 1t a bit. Soap" he cried
in disgust.
Then he thought minute. "Wher-
ever did 1t come from?" he said
He began looking about him, and by
and by he found the giants shaving
brush and stick of shaving soap lying
by the edge of the lake. When he saw
how big they were and thought how
big the giant must be who could use
them, he began to be little bit ner-
vous. But he thought of Jack the
Giant Killer and Jack and the Bean
Stalk, and cheered himself up by tel
ling himself that people named Jack
seemed to, be lucky in their dealings
with giants, until he felt quite brave
again. Then he crawled to the rim of
the mountain and looked down. 1t
was all full of soft gray cloud. That
was the Thunderstorm Giant.
Hello there." called Jack.
The sides of the mountain echoed
the words so that it sounded very
loud, just as it does if you shout when
you are going under a bridge. The
Thunderstorm Giant woke up in a
hurry and bounced out of the noun
tain. He though he was late He al
ways thought he was late. So he
caught hold Of his shaving brush and
began shaving as fast as an express
train.
Jack walked UP to him. ri said he'll
To-" he remarked severely, "and you
never answered me. Don't you know
it's very rude not to answer when
you're spoken to?"
The giant was so astonished that
he put down his shaving brush and
stared at Jack. He had never been so
spoken to in all his life; and by a
mite the size of Jack, too.
Its not polite to stare,' said
Jack calmly.
who are you?" gasped the giant
| Please" prompted Jack patiently
| well, who are you, please?" re-
peated the giant obediently, for he
thought Jack must be a powerful ma
gician to dare to talk to him in that
way.
I'm Jack Robinson" said Jack in
his grandest manner perhaps you
have heard of me?" he added care
lessly.
"Why no." said the giant, 81 don 7
believe I have
Is it possible!" said Jack. 'rWhy,
I'm the strongest boy in town."
You're not stronger than me!'
cried the giant, quite forgetting his
grammar in his excitement
"Whan can you do?" asked Jack.
"Oh," said the giant. 4 can blow
the roof off a house"
"Pooh!" said Jack. That's nothing.
Can you blow a soap bubble?"
"a soap bubble?" repeated the
giant.
"You don't even know what a soap
bubble ISL said Jack. You're not
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