Ambition and the Giants

Once upon a time, Ambition woke up with the firm belief that the worth of his existence on earth was proportional to his height.

At breakfast, he discussed this with his wife.
“Everybody values giants for their strength. When something seems impossible to accomplish, we go see them and ask them for help. Everybody knows them for their remarkable actions, but even those giants that have done nothing of value are famous, for their face is so far up that us tiny people can see them from very far.”
“You know how giants appear, ” argued his wife with a smooth voice. “They come from the mountains, where all giants gather. I don't want you to go. I don't want you to leave me.”
“What choice do I have? I need to feel great.”

He prepared himself all day long, filled his gourd, packed what he felt was needed for his trip. On the next day, he kissed his wife goodbye.

He went to the mountains, but after three days of exhausting hike, he did not meet a single giant. He did see them in the distance, but they were too far to even notice him. He yelled in the desert; no ear heard his voice. Yet, Ambition was stubborn. As both his backpack and his stomach grew smaller by the day, he hoped that his quest would not end with his death.

On the fourth day, he woke up next to an old giant.
“Hello, sir!” he yelled, hoping the giant could hear him.
The giant looked at him, and crouched. He took Ambition in his hand.
“Good morning, sir, ” said the giant. “What can I do for you?”
Ambition didn't really know what to say. He hadn't planned what he would do when he meets a giant.
“I guess I want to see what you see.”
“Do you want to sit on my head, so that you can see the world at my altitude?”
“I would like that very much!”

The giant then put Ambition on his head, and Ambition was amazed. His vision of the world had suddenly changed. His perspective in life grew bigger.
Ambition didn't notice it at first, but as his outlook underwent the most fantastic metamorphosis, his own body started to expand. His legs grew bigger, his torso looked like a pillar, his head went up and up like a bullet fired to the sky.

Soon he became too big for the giant below him. He crumbled slowly; his back soon broke apart.
“Giant, ” said Ambition, “stay alive! Don't do this to me!”
“This is the cycle of life, ” said the giant in his last breath.
Ambition was enlightened.

When he came back, his wife told him how worried she had been. He made her a castle out of a single rock, and went back into the wilderness of the mountains, building even more wonders, trying to be worthy of the giant whose death he was responsible for.