There once was a valley between two mountain ranges where a giant, Agricola, lived. Now, Agricola was not always a giant. There was a time when he was just like all of the other inhabitants of the valley. One day Agricola was working in the fields and discovered that he had a special gift. He could eat rubies and it made him bigger and stronger. Instead of rushing home to tell his family of his gift Agricola thought it would be better to show them how much bigger and stronger he was by collecting more food than he ever had before. When Agricola got home later that afternoon he had collected more food than 20 of the other farmers together. His family was amazed at what Agricola had done and they encouraged him when he said, "I want to eat more rubies tomorrow so I can gather enough food for our family and the neighbors as well".

The next day, Agricola ate even more rubies and got bigger and stronger. He was happy to tell the others working in the field, "Go home, and tend to other things, for I will do your work, for well I can". So they went home to their families and thanked Agricola for giving them more time to do other things. The farmers told others of Agricola's gift. Days, months went by and every day Agricola was getting bigger and stronger, eating a little more rubies than the day before. Agricola continued sending more and more people home from the fields and the forests while he collected and farmed the food that was needed for the inhabitants of the valley. As the years went by, the population of the valley steadily increased as there was plenty of food provided by Agricola for the people to eat. All the while Agricola was eating more and more rubies everyday and continuing to get bigger and stronger, he soon realized the need to keep up with the growing population of the valley. The people of the valley grew in ways they had never dreamed possible. Now they had time to pursue other interests without the worry of laboring for their next meal, and they were happy.

Suddenly one day the chief engineer of the only known ruby mine in the valley heard from far below in the belly of the earth an alarming message, "We Hit Rock!" The engineer frantically shuffled about and shouted, "NO, this can't be. There must be more rubies down there somewhere, there just has to be!" The engineer sent every person available, but no one could find more reserves of rubies. It appeared as if there was a limited supply.

Still Agricola was eating more rubies than the day before. In fact he was doing more work every day too, but this did not bother him because he didn't necessarily have to work any harder. Every day Agricola was getting bigger and stronger, so it was easier for him to do more work. He simply had to make sure he ate rubies, and plenty of them. And so did the people of the valley if they wanted to have enough food to feed their increasing population. At this time the population had reached nearly 10 times the size it was before Agricola had discovered his amazing gift. Agricola was so big and strong that he could till the soil in areas where before in the valley they could not. This gave Agricola, whom by now had become the sole provider of food for the valley, more opportunities to grow and collect food. Of course, Agricola had to continue to eat rubies so that he could be big and strong enough to till the new soil.

The leaders of the village decided that they needed to start rationing the use of rubies, but they found that it was not enough. The valley was running out of rubies. Agricola began to eat less and less, and he quickly began to shrink back down to the size of everyone else. This left him with only an average size and strength in which to feed all the people. The leaders called upon the People of the valley for help in tilling the soils that Agricola's giant hands had made fertile. But as the old farmers returned to their fields, they realized that they could not work hard enough. They called upon more people for help. Soon they realized that even if everyone in the valley were to work in the fields with all of their strength together, they still would not be big or strong enough to till all of the soil that it takes to grow enough food to feed their new population. Agricola's gift enabled the population of the people of this valley to grow beyond that which was previously sustainable on their own. The inhabitants of the valley had become dependent upon Agricola for their very survival.

Every day as more people realized that Agricola was running out of fuel, more and more people tried eating limestone, clay, sand, gold, steel, iron...desperately searching for something that will make them bigger and stronger... to "save" them all.

-- forest