"I've always liked giants best," said Mary.
"But why don't you leave him?" said Jack.
"I can't," said the giant. "We don't belong to ourselves. We belong to Mr. Kite. Mr. Kite is the showman."
"And did you sell yourself to him like a slave?" Hester asked.
The giant laughed. "Very much like a slave," he said. "You see, there's nothing else to do when you're big like me and have no money. I'm too weak to work, and it's ridiculous, too. No one ought to be so big. So I must do what I can."
"What's the matter with King Pip?" Robert asked.
"He's selfish and bad-tempered," said the giant. "He thinks it's a fine thing to be so small."
"And you think it a fine thing to be so big, don't you?" said Robert.
The giant opened his blue eyes. "I! Not me. I'd give everything I ever possessed to be five feet seven instead of seven feet five. It's never done me any good."
"But it's rather grand to be as big as that," Robert suggested.