The Giant with Seven-Heads

Super Great Kids' Stories

The episode features a Scottish folktale titled 'The Giant with Seven Heads,' narrated by Tiernan for the children's storytelling podcast Super Great Kids Stories. Host Kim introduces the story as part of an October

Key takeaways

• Host Kim frames October as a peak month for scary stories but rates this episode 'One Scream' due to Jack's comedic indifference.
• The story is an old Scottish folktale where protagonist Jack prioritizes catching rabbits over avoiding supernatural dangers.

Main topics

• Scottish folktale adaptation
• children's storytelling podcast format

Notable quotes

"I'm looking for rabbits. I don't need a giant with seven heads."

Conclusion

The episode delivers a lighthearted, low-stakes folk narrative wrapped

Transcript preview

Speaker 2 (0:13) Hello and welcome to Super Great Kids Stories. Wise tales from storytellers around the world which will make you laugh and sometimes cry. Recommended for ages 5 to 105. I'm Kim and I love stories. This week we have a story from Scotland, a beautiful country in the north of the United Kingdom. It's told by Tien and Duyeb, who brought us the ghost of the bloody finger. This story is called The Giant with Seven Heads. And, perhaps surprisingly, it's what I call scary, not really Speaker 1 (0:59) very scary. Speaker 2 (1:02) I hope you're having an OK week. I'm very pleased for two reasons. First, it's October, which is a big month for storytellers because it has Halloween in it when lots and lots of scary stories are told. So, we have a new theme starting this month, which is scary stories. Now, many of you will probably be cheering, hooray! But... Others, who are a bit more like me, might be thinking, I don't like scary stories. So, here's what we're going to do. We're starting out very gently. This story is scary because of the giant, but not very scary because Jack, the main character, is funny and he refuses to be bothered by a seven-headed giant. But... If you don't like anything remotely scary, then I'd recommend that you listen to another story like Finn McCool and the Seven Little Helpers or Hey Ho! or The Grumpy Gecko. And just for this month, I will rate the stories from one scream to three screams. One being not very scary at all and three screams being absolutely terrifying. This week's story is One Scream. Not very scary at all. And my second reason to be very cheerful is that my granddaughter Dorothy has learned how to walk, which is good news. But the not so good news is that her new favourite thing to do is to march across to the biggest slide in the playground and whiz down it, which I find almost more terrifying than listening to scary stories. So, just before we start this week's tale, can you think... which scary character you would most like to get rid of and how you would do it. So, for example, would you encourage them to shrink really, really small and then trap them in a bottle with the lid on it? Or would you dig a deep pit and cover it with leaves and sticks and trap them that way? Are you ready? Which character would you most like to get rid of and how would you do it? Off you go. Speaker 2 (3:29) Hello, super great kids. I'm back. Which scary character did you decide you would most like to get rid of? Was it like the wolf in The Three Little Pigs? Or the beast in The Beast Who Wants a Feast? Or maybe even Baba Yaga, Speaker 1 (3:47) the Russian Speaker 2 (3:48) witch? And what way did you think you'd trap them? Maybe with a huge fishing net? Or... A magic trampoline which keeps them bouncing and bouncing until they promise to be good and not eat people ever again. Or would you lock them in a classroom and give them lessons on why vegetables are much better to eat than people? Now, if you've decided to brave this week's slightly scary story, are you ready? Are you sitting uncomfortably? Then let's give a very warm welcome to Tien and Duyen. Mouth open, let Speaker 1 (4:26) the story come galumphing out. Hello, Super Great Scary Stories listeners. It's Tiernan here. I have got a story for you all about a boy called Jack and a giant. Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, I know that story. But no, no, no. This is a different one to the one you're thinking of. It's not about that giant. The giant in this story has a lot more heads than the one you're thinking of. Yes. Even more than that. Let's just say it's so many heads, it must get very expensive buying hats and getting haircuts. And it's not that boy called Jack either, and there are no beanstalks or magic beans or cows to be sold. Instead, this story has swords and rabbits and, I think, a rather surprising ending. This is an old Scottish tale about a boy who was unbothered by anything and a giant that picked the wrong battle. It's called The Giant with Seven Heads. Are you ready? Then let's begin. In a small village in western Scotland, a boy named Jack lived. He was always very cheery and acted like he didn't have a care