Malachy Doyle has written an original fairy tale in his first title for Orchard. Sam lives a simple life with his parents on a farm. Then Sam meets the Ugly Great Giant. Sam wins the giant's land and prized silver bullocks in a game of cards, but then the giant wants to play for Sam's head! Sam loses and has to go to the giant's castle. The giant tells Sam that he can save his head if he manages three tasks. Secretly, the giant's daughter, Yellow Lily, helps him to clean 200 stables, then thatch the rooves with birds feathers. But the third task is more problematic - Sam has to rescue an egg from the top of a tree that has no branches. Yellow Lily tells Sam to kill her, use her bones as a ladder, then put her back together with magic. Sam gets the egg, but forgets to collect Yellow Lily's little toe, so Yellow Lily ends up lame. The giant realises that Sam has had help and is angry. It's hard for the pair to escape now that Yellow Lily is hobbling but as they're crossing the moat, it gives way from the trillion tiny woodworm who have been nibbling at it over the years. Sam and Yellow Lily get away and live happily ever after.
- ISBN10 1843622416
- ISBN13 9781843622413
- Publish Date 15 July 2004 (first published 30 October 2003)
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 15 December 2006
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher Hachette Children's Group
- Imprint Orchard Books
- Format Paperback
- Pages 80
- Language English