Extrait du livre The last giant
The last geant Pascale Vignali Illustrated by Justine Cunha Le Regard Sonore Editions
Once upon a time, on the other side of the world, in Patagonia... Mountains and volcanoes stood alongside gigantic glaciers that rumbled and creaked as if they were hiding an unknown world. A strange country, where anything seemed possible, like following in the footsteps of the giants who once lived there. After all, some explorers named it "Patagonia", which means "land of the big feet "...
Once giants roamed the earth. Slowly they faded away ... Only Santiago remained, the last giant, all alone in Patagonia. But he was happy enough in these immense and deserted landscapes. With no one about, he had all the space he could want to run, jump, play and eat without scaring anyone.
Santiago was a greedy giant with a gigantic appetite, and the world was his kitchen ... So a volcano made a perfect pot - big enough to satisfy his rumbling tummy! He used them as vast cauldrons to prepare his stewed pebble soup.
But volcanoes are not just saucepans that you can leave to simmer gently while you go and take a bath ... They do as they please. When Santiago turned his back, they would often explode like fireworks! The lava would flow, boulders would rain down and Santiago would find himself thrown clear, landing on his bottom … much to his amusement !!
All this uproar was not at all to the liking of the magician Magellan. He had come to the end of the world seeking tranquility. The great magician had settled into a glacier he had dug with a few strokes of his magic wand. He had built a cozy ice palace with bluish walls. Huapi, a little penguin who kept him company, loved to slide on its belly, from one wall to the other, while the enchanter would dictate his memoirs to his enchanted quill pen:
MAGELLAN : Mmm .... Where were we?... Oh yes ! On this journey, comma, I happened to meet the Maputche Tribe. Full stop. (BOOM !) The Maputche, comma, despite the intense cold that reigned there, comma, were dressed in a simple loincloth. Full stop. What’s more, they smelled extraordinarily bad. Full stop. When the chief explained (BOOM !) that the smell came from the seal fat that they put on their bodies to keep warm, (BOOM!) comma, I admired their ingenuity and was tempted to try this technique myself, (BOOM ! BOOM !)… But really, what is all this fuss about ????__
Magellan emerged from his ice cave and walked out onto the glacier. Huapi waddled along behind him. In the distance, huge cascades of rock were raining down onto the land... the water... everywhere... HUAPI : It's Santiago again, Maestro! I think he’s put too many rocks in a volcano, without asking first. It’s coughing up stones everywhere ... Atchoo !! Huapi often sneezed to expel the sea salt from his nostrils …
