After exploring Machu Picchu and the puma deciding to hunt elsewhere, Perusa and Peruso set off on their next adventure. This time, they headed to Ollantaytambo - a place that was said to be so steep that you would think the mountains were going to fall on your head.
"Why do all these cities always have to be on such high mountains?" asked Peruso, putting his hands on his hips as he looked up at the huge terraces. "You could build a city on a meadow! Right next to a large cornfield!"
"But then it wouldn't be so safe from enemies," explained Perusa, who always liked to be right. "Besides, once you're up there, you'll have the best view in the world!"
“The view is good, but I would rather have corn cakes,” Peruso muttered.
On the way up the steep steps of Ollantaytambo, they stumbled upon a group of workers who were working on huge boulders. Peruso, always looking for a shortcut, asked one of the workers: "Uh, why are you doing this? You could just use smaller stones!"
The worker scratched his head and laughed. "You really are a clever boy! But that is the order of the Sapa Inca. The walls must be big and strong to keep enemies away."
"Enemies?" Perusa cried excitedly. "Are there really enemies here?"
The worker looked around and leaned towards the children. "There are rumors," he whispered. "A huge sleeping giant is said to live in the mountains. Some say he wakes up when the stars are right. But of course these are just stories."
“Just stories?” Peruso’s eyes lit up. “That sounds like the best adventure ever!”
"The sleeping giant awakens... almost"
They had barely crept through the narrow streets of Ollantaytambo when they heard a loud rumbling . The ground vibrated as if a huge elephant was stamping over the mountains. "What was that?" asked Perusa, stopping. "Was that the giant?"
Peruso shrugged. "Or maybe Wolli, who finally comes stomping up the mountain after all that corn husking."
But then an old man came running, gesticulating wildly and shouting: “The giant! The giant is awakening!”
Perusa and Peruso looked at each other, their eyes as wide as moons. "This is our chance!" shouted Perusa and ran towards the noise.
"Our chance for what?" Peruso asked afterwards. "To be trampled on?"
But Perusa had already turned the next corner. And then they saw it: a huge statue that looked like a sleeping man, half carved into the rock, half hidden in the earth. But something was actually moving - the earth was shaking and the statue seemed to be breathing.
"He's breathing!" Peruso shouted. "The giant is breathing!"
"Or it's just the wind," said Perusa, trying to remain calm even though she wasn't entirely sure herself. "But... we have to find out what's going on here!"
They climbed closer to the sleeping giant, who was in a huge cave. Small stones were scattered all around them, and an old, rickety altar stood in the middle of the room. "Perhaps that's the cause," Perusa murmured, pointing to the altar. "Something is waking the giant."
Peruso looked around, his eyes searching for a quick way to escape. "Or we wake him up... and then run away really fast!"
"No!" Perusa shouted, holding him tight. "We have to be smarter. Maybe he's not evil."
Peruso shook his head. "Giants are always hungry. And do you know what they like to eat the most? Little children throwing corn kernels!"
But before they could argue any further, a section of the cave wall suddenly collapsed and the statue began to move more violently. The loud rumbling filled the air and stones rained down from above. Perusa and Peruso threw themselves to the ground and in that moment... everything stopped.
Silence.
The statue was silent. The ground was no longer shaking. And the giant? He was still sleeping soundly.
"Huh?" asked Peruso, looking around confused. "Was that all?"
"Maybe it was just a shock," Perusa said, standing up and dusting himself off. "Or... he decided not to wake up. But I think we should get out of here before he changes his mind."
"The Escape and the Best Corn Cake in the World"
The two ran as fast as they could back to the village, where they were greeted by the workers who hadn't seen the whole drama. "And?" asked one of them. "Have you seen the sleeping giant?"
Peruso, who always had a sense of drama, stretched himself up and said in a serious voice: "We didn't just see him... we defeated him!"
“Defeated?” asked the worker.
“Yes!” cried Perusa. “With nothing but our courage and a few kernels of corn!”
The workers laughed and Peruso grinned broadly. "And now... I would really like that corn cake you keep talking about!"
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And so Perusa and Peruso sat by the fire that evening, with a huge piece of corn cake in their hands, while they thought about their latest adventure. They had discovered the sleeping giant - and almost woken him - but the next adventure was surely already waiting in the mountains or in the deep valleys of the Inca Empire.
“I bet the next adventure will include llamas,” said Peruso with his mouth full.
“Hopefully none that run faster,” laughed Perusa, and the two friends enjoyed the rest of their cake under the sparkling stars of the Inca sky.