byAnne Miranda

illustrated byIlja Bereznickas

byAnne Miranda

illustrated byIlja Bereznickas

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by Anne Mirandaillustrated by Ilja Bereznickas

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2All gone! All gone! cried the queen.Theyre all gone!

The butcher, the baker, and thecandlestick maker heard the queen cry.They ran to see what was wrong. There wasthe queen in her ring room. All her goldrings were gone. The rings had almost filledthe ring room before, but now it was empty.Where had they gone? The baker lookedfor a clue. She saw nothing in the ringroom. Then she looked out the window.

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Look at the size of those footprints. Thegiant has been here, said the baker.

Dont worry, said the candlestick maker.Well get the rings back.

How? asked the queen. If the giant hasthem, Ill never get them back.

Giants dont give up a million gold ringswithout a good fight, said the butcher. Heswung in the air at an imaginary giant andfell over.

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I know something about this giant, saidthe baker. He loves freshly baked raisinbread. I think he will trade the rings for raisinbread.

Rings for bread? Sounds doubtful tome, said the candlestick maker. That mustbe some bread! said the butcher.

Its worth a try, said the baker.If you get my rings back, Ill make you a

princess, said the queen.It would be nice to be a princess,

thought the baker.

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5The baker rushed to her bakery. She mixedflour, milk, sugar, yeast, raisins, and her secretcombination of spices. When the dough wasready, she pushed it and pulled it. Then shelet it sit. She pulled and pushed it again. Shelet it sit again. Then she patted it into a panand put it in the oven. The smell of bakingbread drifted out the window.

Soon she heard the thud, thud, thud of thegiants feet approaching the castle.

Fee, Fi, Fo, Fred. I smell the smell of bakingbread, said the giant.

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6Could I have some of that bread? heasked the baker eagerly. It smells great!

Only if you promise to give me back thequeens rings, replied the baker.

The giant blushed. How did you know Itook them? he asked.

You left your big footprints outside thecastle window, said the baker.

This is a fairy tale, isnt it? Giants aresupposed to do stuff like that. According tostandard fairy-tale rules, giants take thingsand dont give them back!

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The baker waved the freshly baked breadback and forth under the giants nose.

Thats some loaf of bread, said the giant.May I have it? Please?

You can have the bread, said the baker,but you cant have the bread and the rings.Sometimes we must make choices. If youwant this bread, you must bring back therings.

Oh, no, said the giant. The rings havemuch more value than the bread!

Does ONE ring for a loaf of bread soundfair to you? asked the baker.

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8Oh, all right, said the giant.Wonderful! Tomorrow youll have

another loaf. Just double the payment.Double? said the giant thoughtfully.

Hmmm . . . One doubled is only two. I thinkI can manage that.

Each day, I will double the price of thebread, said the baker. The day aftertomorrow, you will pay me four rings. Theday after that, youll give me eight rings.Well do this for twenty days. Hows that?

Well, 20 plus 20 is only 40. Thats fine!said the giant.

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9Promise? the baker asked him. Apromise is a promise, according to standardfairy-tale rules.

Yes, I promise, said the giant. His mouthwas watering as he turned to go.

Hurry back before the bread gets cold!the baker called after him.

The giant thundered off to his cave. Heraced back holding a single, sparkling goldring. The baker took it from him and handedthe giant his loaf of bread. He sat down andate it in one bite.

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The next day, the baker made anothergiant-sized loaf of bread and put it in theoven. The smell of the baking bread filledthe room and went out the open window.

Soon, the baker once more heard thethud, thud, thud of the giant approachingthe castle.

Fee, Fi, Fo, Fred. I smell the smell ofbaking bread, he said. I want more.

You will get a loaf of bread if you havebrought TWO rings, said the baker.

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But I want it now, said the giant.You must make a choice, said the

baker. Do you want the bread or the rings?Thats some loaf of bread, he said as he

handed over two rings. The giant grabbedthe bread and ate it in one big bite.

Remember, tomorrow the bread will costtwice as much, said the baker.

The giant laughed. Only double? Howfoolish you are! I have lots of rings. Ill eatyour bread forever!

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Each day the giant came to the kitchen,and each day there was a delicious hot loafof bread waiting for him. Each day the gianthad to pay the baker double the number ofrings he had paid the day before.

The baker kept a chart of the number ofrings the giant had to pay each day andthe total number he had paid.

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In two weeks, the number of rings thegiant had to pay had reached a ratherhefty amount. Because the giant loved the bakers bread so much, he always paidwhatever the baker asked. On Day 14, hepaid the baker 8,192 rings. The next day,the amount doubled to 16,384. On Day 16,the giant paid the baker 32,768 rings. OnDay 17, the number of rings he had to paywas 65,536!

The giant needed a wheelbarrow to carryall the rings to the castle. The baker neededhelp to count the rings. The butcher and thecandlestick maker were happy to help.

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On Day 20, the giant thumped up to thecastle. He was really mad.

You tricked me, said the giant to thebaker. Once I had more than a million rings.If I pay for my bread today, I wont have anymore rings left. Give me back the rings!

Oh, no, said the baker, you promised.Giants dont have to keep promises in

fairy tales, he huffed. I will only keep mypromise if you promise to bake bread for meevery day.

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Ill do it! said the baker quickly.The giant smiled. Really? Hmmm.Youre

too smart to give in like this! Why would youmake my bread for the rest of your life?

I like baking bread for you.Youappreciate my work, the baker told him.

You really promise? asked the giant.Yes, said the baker. In a fairy tale, a

promise is a promise.Take the rings! yelled the giant.

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The queen was thrilled to receive thelast of her rings from the giant.

Congratulations! she said to the baker.You have recovered my rings. Now I willmake you a princess.You have earned it.

With that, they all lived happily everafter. The queen had her rings. The gianthad his bread. The baker still baked bread every day, even though she was a princess.

In a fairy tale, a promise is a promise.

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1Is this a true story? How do you know?

2What details does the writer use to tell youthat the baker is good at her job?

3What is the main idea of this story?

4What did you learn about making bargainsfrom reading this story?

5How is the giants attitude toward the bakerthe same at the beginning and at the end ofthe story? How is it different?

6Do you think it is important to keep apromise? Why or why not?

Add It Up! Solve this math problem. Thenwrite your own math problem for yourclassmates to solve.

Baseball cards cost 5 cents each. If Jan bought 8 cards, how much did she spend?

Think and Respond

School-Home Connection Share this storywith someone at home. Talk about times whenyou may have gotten a good bargain. Describewhat the bargain was.

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