--- title: The Pygmies., part 1 — Tanglewood Tales · full text with trees · page 2 description: The Pygmies., part 1, «Tanglewood Tales» by Nathaniel Hawthorne: the whole chapter, every sentence with its dependency tree and pragmatics. It begins: A great while ago, when the world was full of wonders, there lived an earth-born Giant, named Antaeus, and a million or more of curious little earth- --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg976/7/page/2/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [Tanglewood Tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg976/) / The Pygmies., part 1 # The Pygmies., part 1 · page 2 [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg976/7/) **2** His little friends, like all other small people, had a great opinion of their own importance, and used to assume quite a patronizing air towards the Giant.[48](../../48/ "tree and pragmatics") "Poor creature!" they said one to another. "[49](../../49/ "tree and pragmatics") He has a very dull time of it, all by himself; and we ought not to grudge wasting a little of our precious time to amuse him.[50](../../50/ "tree and pragmatics") He is not half so bright as we are, to be sure; and, for that reason, he needs us to look after his comfort and happiness.[51](../../51/ "tree and pragmatics") Let us be kind to the old fellow.[52](../../52/ "tree and pragmatics") Why, if Mother Earth had not been very kind to ourselves, we might all have been Giants too."[53](../../53/ "tree and pragmatics") On all their holidays, the Pygmies had excellent sport with Antaeus.[54](../../54/ "tree and pragmatics") He often stretched himself out at full length on the ground, where he looked like the long ridge of a hill; and it was a good hour's walk, no doubt, for a short-legged Pygmy to journey from head to foot of the Giant.[55](../../55/ "tree and pragmatics") He would lay down his great hand flat on the grass, and challenge the tallest of them to clamber upon it, and straddle from finger to finger.[56](../../56/ "tree and pragmatics") So fearless were they, that they made nothing of creeping in among the folds of his garments.[57](../../57/ "tree and pragmatics") When his head lay sidewise on the earth, they would march boldly up, and peep into the great cavern of his mouth, and take it all as a joke (as indeed it was meant) when Antaeus gave a sudden snap of his jaws, as if he were going to swallow fifty of them at once.[58](../../58/ "tree and pragmatics") You would have laughed to see the children dodging in and out among his hair, or swinging from his beard.[59](../../59/ "tree and pragmatics") It is impossible to tell half of the funny tricks that they played with their huge comrade; but I do not know that anything was more curious than when a party of boys were seen running races on his forehead, to try which of them could get first round the circle of his one great eye.[60](../../60/ "tree and pragmatics") It was another favorite feat with them to march along the bridge of his nose, and jump down upon his upper lip.[61](../../61/ "tree and pragmatics") If the truth must be told, they were sometimes as troublesome to the Giant as a swarm of ants or mosquitoes, especially as they had a fondness for mischief, and liked to prick his skin with their little swords and lances, to see how thick and tough it was.[62](../../62/ "tree and pragmatics") But Antaeus took it all kindly enough; although, once in a while, when he happened to be sleepy, he would grumble out a peevish word or two, like the muttering of a tempest, and ask them to have done with their nonsense.[63](../../63/ "tree and pragmatics") A great deal oftener, however, he watched their merriment and gambols until his huge, heavy, clumsy wits were completely stirred up by them; and then would he roar out such a tremendous volume of immeasurable laughter, that the whole nation of Pygmies had to put their hands to their ears, else it would certainly have deafened them.[64](../../64/ "tree and pragmatics") "Ho! ho! ho!" quoth the Giant, shaking his mountainous sides. "[65](../../65/ "tree and pragmatics") What a funny thing it is to be little\![66](../../66/ "tree and pragmatics") If I were not Antaeus, I should like to be a Pygmy, just for the joke's sake."[67](../../67/ "tree and pragmatics") The Pygmies had but one thing to trouble them in the world.[68](../../68/ "tree and pragmatics") They were constantly at war with the cranes, and had always been so, ever since the long-lived Giant could remember.[69](../../69/ "tree and pragmatics") From time to time, very terrible battles had been fought in which sometimes the little men won the victory, and sometimes the cranes.[70](../../70/ "tree and pragmatics") According to some historians, the Pygmies used to go to the battle, mounted on the backs of goats and rams; but such animals as these must have been far too big for Pygmies to ride upon; so that, I rather suppose, they rode on squirrel-back, or rabbit-back, or rat-back, or perhaps got upon hedgehogs, whose prickly quills would be very terrible to the enemy.[71](../../71/ "tree and pragmatics") However this might be, and whatever creatures the Pygmies rode upon, I do not doubt that they made a formidable appearance, armed with sword and spear, and bow and arrow, blowing their tiny trumpet, and shouting their little war cry.[72](../../72/ "tree and pragmatics") They never failed to exhort one another to fight bravely, and recollect that the world had its eyes upon them; although, in simple truth, the only spectator was the Giant Antaeus, with his one, great, stupid eye in the middle of his forehead.[73](../../73/ "tree and pragmatics") When the two armies joined battle, the cranes would rush forward, flapping their wings and stretching out their necks, and would perhaps snatch up some of the Pygmies crosswise in their beaks.[74](../../74/ "tree and pragmatics") Whenever this happened, it was truly an awful spectacle to see those little men of might kicking and sprawling in the air, and at last disappearing down the crane's long, crooked throat, swallowed up alive.[75](../../75/ "tree and pragmatics") A hero, you know, must hold himself in readiness for any kind of fate; and doubtless the glory of the thing was a consolation to him, even in the crane's gizzard.[76](../../76/ "tree and pragmatics") If Antaeus observed that the battle was going hard against his little allies, he generally stopped laughing, and ran with mile-long strides to their assistance, flourishing his club aloft and shouting at the cranes, who quacked and croaked, and retreated as fast as they could.[77](../../77/ "tree and pragmatics") Then the Pygmy army would march homeward in triumph, attributing the victory entirely to their own valor, and to the warlike skill and strategy of whomsoever happened to be captain general; and for a tedious while afterwards, nothing would be heard of but grand processions, and public banquets, and brilliant illuminations, and shows of wax-work, with likenesses of the distinguished officers, as small as life.[78](../../78/ "tree and pragmatics") In the above-described warfare, if a Pygmy chanced to pluck out a crane's tail feather, it proved a very great feather in his cap.[79](../../79/ "tree and pragmatics") Once or twice, if you will believe me, a little man was made chief ruler of the nation for no other merit in the world than bringing home such a feather.[80](../../80/ "tree and pragmatics") But I have now said enough to let you see what a gallant little people these were, and how happily they and their forefathers, for nobody knows how many generations, had lived with the immeasurable Giant Antaeus.[81](../../81/ "tree and pragmatics") In the remaining part of the story, I shall tell you of a far more astonishing battle than any that was fought between the Pygmies and the cranes.[82](../../82/ "tree and pragmatics") [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg976/7/) **2** - ← previous: [page 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg976/7/) - next →: [The Pygmies., part 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg976/8/) - ↑ back to [Tanglewood Tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg976/)