I know how I’ll get through the forest where the man-eating giants live. I’ll beat my drum until I’ve woken them all. Then I’ll tell the giants that I’m just the first. There are thousands of men coming after me, bound and determined to put an end to giants.

We’ll trample them to death like so many ants. And if a giant takes hold of one of us, we’ll come out of the thicket with hammers in our belts and bash their skulls to smithereens. That ought to get their attention!

Drummer Lad, The Drummer, Grimms. Illustration by Kay Nielsen.