Strange Tales

Strange Tales by Anton Valdemart

Mac the Giant Killer

Cyril MacDonald ran his high street shoe shop with great pride in the quality of his stock, promoting the popular business with flair and imagination. Mac, as he was universally known, was particularly proud of his award-winning window displays which he created with artistic flair. The giant boot arrived wrapped in a sack on the back of a cart.

While rivals might simply pile boxes together in a heap, he had boots, shoes and even slippers in specially-creative settings. Mac hired artists to paint backdrops appropriate for the footwear. Wellington boots were seen sloshing in realistic puddles with a lifelike footpath meandering into the distance. A dainty pair of dance shoes were placed in a true-to-life ballroom alongside musical instruments and sheet music. People would go out of their way to look at the displays, considered entertainments in themselves. Children pressed their noses against the glass, examining the frequently changing contents. “Look at those funny shoes,” said Gwen to her friend Nora on their way home from school. They and everyone else were astounded and puzzled when the moccasins went on display - the first seen outside London. Even the rector bought a pair for his quieter moments. Mac decided he needed a new display sign, a traditional means of attracting customers. His grandfather’s wooden signboard might still be swinging but it was long out of date. Mac persuaded Gadthorpe the cobbler to create an enormous boot to hang outside the shop. It was realistic in every detail including burnished and matt leather, laces and a tab above the heel. People looked askance as Mac stood, in his elegant suit, astride the boot waiting for Dobkins to shop fitter to put it on display. Soon it was hanging from a metal bracket over the shop front, gently swaying in the breeze. Mac’s creative mind soon came into play regarding the curious sign. He wove stories around it and when he put a huge wooden club into his window the flamboyant shopkeeper was dubbed Mac the Giant Killer.

into for his fables. The boot and club were trophies he had acquired from a nasty giant, he mused. Soon there was an enormous high-heeled shoe hanging next to the boot - wrestled from the giant’s wife, the story went. Even the children weren’t fooled so Mac made up other tales to keep them and their parents entertained. The moors above the town had an eerie reputation going back generations - a reputation Mac tapped

One night there was a terrible storm. Lightning flashes filled the sky, thunder growled and the earth shook. Next day the giant boot and shoe were gone. Leading up the lane were huge footprints in the mud, footprints that disappeared into the swamp. Two weeks later two gigantic wellington boots appeared hanging outside Mac’s shop. “Don’t get caught out like the giants,” said Mac to windowshoppers. “We have new lines in wellies.” They quickly sold out.

read my next Strange Tale in the Link: Up, Up and Away.