Before the days of William the Conqueror, there lived a man named Thomas Hickathrift in the marsh of the Isle of Ely. He was a poor laborer, but so strong he could do two days' work in one. His son, also named Thomas, was not clever and seemed rather simple, so he learned little from his schooling.
After his father died, Tom's mother indulged him. He grew lazy, sitting by the fire and eating enough for four or five men. By age ten, he was eight feet tall with hands like mutton shoulders.
One day, his mother begged straw from a kind farmer. Tom refused to fetch it until she got him a cart rope. At the farm, the farmer joked that his rope was too short. Tom ignored him, bundled a massive load of straw—about a ton—and carried it off on his shoulder with ease, astonishing everyone.
Word of Tom's strength spread. People hired him for work, shaming him out of his idleness. He helped a woodman carry a huge tree single-handedly, then carried an even larger tree home on his shoulder faster than a cart with six horses.
Realizing his power surpassed twenty men, Tom became sociable, enjoying fairs and sports. No one could beat him at cudgels, wrestling, or hammer-throwing. His fame grew.
At a football match in a distant part of the country, he kicked the ball so hard it vanished, angering the players. Tom fought them off with a large spar and cleared his path home.
On his way back, four robbers accosted him. Tom killed two, wounded the other two, and took their two hundred pounds. He amused his mother with the tale.
Tom once met his match in a sturdy tinker with a staff. After a fierce, evenly matched fight where both were bruised, Tom conceded. They became fast friends, nursing each other's wounds.
A brewer from Lynn hired Tom to deliver beer to Wisbeach, warning of a monstrous giant guarding a shortcut. Tired of the long road, Tom took the shortcut. The giant confronted him, threatening to hang his head with others on a tree.
Tom taunted the giant, who fetched his massive club. As a weapon, Tom overturned his cart, using the axle and wheel as a shield and club. In a brutal fight, Tom fatally wounded the giant, who begged for water. Tom refused, finished him off, and cut off his head.
Inside the giant's cave, Tom found great treasure. He delivered his beer, returned home, and led townsfolk to the cave. They rejoiced at the giant's death.
Tom became a hero. He took possession of the cave, demolished it, and built a fine house. He gave some of the giant's land to the poor and farmed the rest. Respected as "Mr. Hickathrift," he lived prosperously with servants, a deer park, and his mother until the end of his days.