The door to the bell tower swung open when the giant turned the knob. The staircase before him was, like the floor of the hallway he had just traversed, also made of pine. It faintly held the scent of the tree and the dusty smell that only time can leave. He mounted the stair and slowly began his ascent, the bell was now ringing directly above him, shaking bits of dust and pine loose with every stroke. The pain in his back was growing. After the long hike down the interminably long hallway his strength was already taxed. He climbed steadily nonetheless, his rising anger over the way the whole situation had developed overpowered the pain.
As he climbed from landing to landing in the dark staircase, the facts of the matter slowly became clearer to to him. The dog that had retrieved him from the foot of the hill had caused his fall and subsequent injury. There was no way he would have run down that hillside without some kind of provocation. And the owner of this dog had some responsibility in the matter. Who lets their huge dog run around untended, he wondered? Only irresponsible pet owners, that's who! He had been brought to this strange place and put out of danger by someone, but maybe their intentions were less than honorable, maybe even criminal! So far, he had not encountered any living soul inside this bizarre building. Surely, if someone was trying to help him they would have revealed themselves by now. And then there was the minor issue of his missing bag of gold and treasure. Certainly a problem to say the least, and a possible grand theft at most! The more he thought about the whole situation the more anger welled inside his giant soul.
The bell was nearby now, too close, thrumming with a vengeance. He could almost swear his vision was slightly blurred by the each low note as it reverberated down the staircase. His sweat soaked through his shirt. He paused on a landing to take off his overcoat and catch his breath. He sat for a minute and rested on a stair. The darkness of the stairway was slowly giving way to a dim light. He could see the motes of dust hanging in the still blue air, quivering with each strike of the bell. He stood and continued his ascent, the flaming pain in his back making him see yellow at the edge of his vision with each footfall. After what seemed an eternity, he rounded the last landing and finally came to the belfry.
The belfry was open on all sides, allowing the peals of the bell to pour out and the morning light to brightly shine in, causing the giant to shield his eyes. When his eyes had adjusted to the brightness, he began to make out the third most amazing sight he had ever seen. Clinging to the bell rope and steadily pulling was possibly the most beautiful woman he had ever seen! A giant to be sure, and his own size at that. Not surprisingly, as he was the only person of any size barging into the room, she noticed him at once. She let go of the rope and regarded him as the bell tolled it's last mournful notes. She then asked him something that no one had ever asked him. "What is your name?"
