Far, far, in the unreached lands, was a home of a colossal cyclops. He lived in a dense forest, and his arms and legs were as tall as trees.

Cyclop's diet consisted of leaves, bark, wood, and rocks. Rocks which everyday fell from the sky.

Of course, while such a diet would certainly harm other creatures, cyclops's stomach was different and easily digested even the hardest minerals.

However, it came with an issue. The cyclops would crave trees very often, even If they weren't necessary for his diet.

Day after day, the cyclops ignored rocks and ate trees instead, paying no attention to the struggles of animals who lived in the forest with him. Animals who knew that cyclops could consume the rocks instead.

One day, he was visited by a pair of squirrels, who accused him of vandalizing their home and cried that cyclops rendered their neighborhood completely devoid of nutritious nuts.

The cyclops replied – "These trees belong to no one, I can eat anything I want." - Because he was too ashamed to admit he had a problem with his cravings.

The squirrels left very sad, forced to find a new place to live and cyclops would see them no more.

Many days passed and the fertile lands around cyclops's home turned into a lifeless meadow.

The cyclops looked around and was grieving over the harm that he has done. All his neighbors left elsewhere, and he remained alone in an empty, sad place.

The cyclops got angry, he started stomping in fury and smashing at stones.

"NO MORE!" - The cyclops angrily yelled. - "THIS WILL BE MY PUNISHMENT." - He spoke with resolve and grabbed a nearby rock.

It tasted dull. It was hard to swallow, but he remained resolute.

Years passed and cyclops lived by himself, eating rocks, but he felt lonely. He thought to himself.

"I've changed. I will show it to other animals and we will be able to live together again."

The cyclops grabbed his belongings and ventured far to the east, where some of his old companions moved. The animals spotted the giant and informed others, who still were suspicious.

"What are you doing here?" - An owl landed on a nearby branch, just below the cyclops's waist. - "We don't want any trouble, could you leave and look for trees to eat elsewhere?" - The owl asked.

The truth was, animals lived everywhere, so cyclops couldn't just consume trees uncontrollably without causing harm. He would have to control himself and limit his diet.

"I STOPPED EATING TREES! NOW, I EAT ROCKS." - The cyclops announced.

Animals were in disbelief, but couldn't protest. The cyclops was bigger and stronger.

"We will see." - The owl replied, hinting at their distrust. Some animals even started moving out of that part of the forest, believing that the cyclops would soon ruin their homes.

But that didn't happen.

The cyclops lived for a year, ignoring the tempting smell of leaves and bark.

Many animals were happy with that result, some started saying hello to their big neighbor, others would stop for a chat or even ask him to help.

It was the anniversary of cyclops's arrival, so some animals decided to reward the cyclops for his change, but they didn't know how. In the end, they decided to make him a cake, a cake made of rocks and leaves.

The cyclops was more than happy to see that and couldn't just refuse. He ate the cake in one bite and his cravings quickly returned. Cyclops's arms and legs started shaking as he looked at trees all around him, but he didn't touch them.

He thought that he'll endure and it will go away, but the next night, he snuck outside and ate one tree.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

The following morning, animals gathered around the missing tree and examined it, wondering who could do that. The judgment was fast, they all thought it was the cyclops, but they had no evidence.

The animals came to cyclops's home and asked If he consumed the missing tree, but cyclops lied and denied it.

"It's their fault! They gave me the cake with leaves! Now, I can't stop craving for trees again!" - The cyclops thought angrily, blaming anyone but himself.

The situation continued the next nights and animals confronted the cyclops every day, but couldn't catch him red-handed. It was all until one night, the owl decided to watch the cyclops non-stop from hiding. She spotted the giant as he consumed a tree that was supposed to become a home for a pair of newlywed birds. The owl quickly awakened the rest of the town and rallied them to confront the cyclops.

"Look, he's eating our tree!" - The birds yelled and started crying.

The cyclops looked at the circle of gathered animals. He was mad, mad that he got caught, but also mad at himself, that he made other animals cry. His eyes started tearing, but he wouldn't admit his problem.

"Your tree!?" - The cyclops yelled. - "Who decided that!?"

Two lovebirds cried louder and other animals got visibly mad at the cyclops.

"We don't want you here! LEAVE OUR HOME!" - The owl yelled and threw rocks at cyclops. Other animals soon followed.

The cyclops covered himself with his large arms, then started backing away, but the animals followed and kept tossing rocks, so he ran away.

Wherever the cyclops would travel, the animals would hear the gossip of his problem with trees beforehand and would scare him off, so he had nowhere to go. On top of that, his cravings got worse.

The cyclops couldn't stand that.

"I DIDN'T MAKE MYSELF THIS WAY. I WANTED TO STOP FOR THEIR SAKE, BUT THEY RUINED IT. IT'S THEIR FAULT." - The cyclops complained.

The next day, he marched toward the northern forests, but he was met with a hail of stones. They didn't hurt his thick skin, all they could do was hurt his heart, but his heart felt nothing at the time.

"I CAME HERE TO EAT AND I WILL EAT AND NOBODY IS GOING TO STOP ME." - The cyclops roared, then started grabbing a tree after tree and shoving it into his mouth. More rocks flew at cyclops, but that didn't matter.

Soon, all animals began to despair. Some barely escaped their homes before they were devoured by the uncontrollable beast.

The rocks stopped flying.

Cyclops looked around and noticed the forest was empty. He started crying and trees fell out of his hands.

"I DON'T WANT TO EAT TREES ANYMORE." - He howled, then ran away to his first, empty home.

He wouldn't eat trees anymore. He started over again, eating rocks. Years passed again, and cyclops became accustomed to his new diet.

"I WILL RETURN TO THE FOREST AND SHOW THEM THAT I CAN CONTROL MYSELF." - Cyclops decided and returned back to the woods.

Animals started throwing rocks at the cyclops, but he just sat in the middle of a meadow, crossed his arms, and closed his eye. - "I WON'T EAT TREES!" - He announced.

"We don't trust you." - A badger yelled.

"I WILL SIT HERE AND EAT ROCKS UNTIL YOU BELIEVE ME." - The cyclops declared and didn't move for many years.

The cyclops was still not welcomed, but animals stopped throwing rocks at him, so he opened his eye. He saw a single tree right in front of him.

"Look! He's about to eat it!" - A hedgehog called his neighbors.

"NO!" - The cyclops spoke and looked at the tree. - "I JUST WANT TO SMELL IT." - He moved his nose to a tree and took a sniff.

Hedgehog and other animals looked at cyclops suspiciously, then seeing that he didn't touch the tree, they left.

Sadly, the smell of the leaves made the cyclops craving again.

"It's just the smell, why does it hurt my stomach so much?" - The cyclops thought to himself. He turned his back to a tree, but noticed more trees in front of him, with a more intense smell. He got annoyed and hungry.

"ONE LEAF WON'T HURT." - The cyclops said to himself and ate a single, green leaf.

"ONE TWIG WON'T HURT." - The cyclops thought as he broke a branch.

"OKAY, JUST ONE AND I AM DONE TODAY." - The cyclops uprooted a tree.

Soon, he couldn't control himself and started eating all around him, all while animals ran away in fear. He didn't think, he kept crying and eating everything in front of him.

The animals gathered, but couldn't find a solution. They had to leave the forest, but where would they leave?

The owl suggested a solution – "We'll have to fight a 'monster' with a monster."

The animals saddened but saw no other option. - "Please, just return here safely."

Owl nodded.

Months passed, all animals were driven to the edges of woods, just before the monster and the owl came.

The cyclops kept consuming trees, without noticing a monster, because the monster was quite small.

The monster coughed and waved to cyclops, smiling.

The cyclops was big and wasn't scared. He yelled. - "GO AWAY MONSTER OR I WILL SQUASH YOU."

"You need to stop eating trees, Mr. Cyclops." - The monster politely requested.

"NO!!!" - The cyclops yelled.

The monster waved its magic stick and Cyclop's mouth disappeared.

The cyclops grabbed his face in horror, realizing what happened. He wanted to scream, but couldn't.

"From this day on, you won't need to eat." - The monster spoke. - "You will still feel hunger for trees, though. Replant all the trees and wait until they regrow, then leave the forest and I shall return your mouth, but remember – once you leave the forest, you won't be able to return again."

After seeing and hearing this, all animals were scared of the monster.