TheSelfishGiant

The Selfish Giant

Once upon a time there was a large castle that stood in the middle of a village.

It belonged to a giant.

The castle had a beautiful garden.

There were peach trees, lovely flowers and soft green grass in the garden.

The trees had a lot of fruits on them.

The birds loved singing on the branches all day.

One day the giant left the castle to visit his friend in the neighbouring village.

And after that day nobody saw him for years.

In all these years the castle stayed empty and the garden became a playground for the village

children. They went there after school every day.

They all played different games. Running after the butterflies was one of their favourites.

They also loved climbing trees and picking fruits.

After seven years the giant decided to return home.

When he arrived at the castle he saw the children playing in his garden.

What's this? Uninvited guests in my castle.

What are you doing here? He roared.

The children were scared and they ran away.

This is my garden.

How dare you come and play here without my permission?

Cried the giant in a very loud voice.

Get out immediately. Nobody can play here except me.

The angry giant built a high wall around the garden and he put up a notice.

Keep out. He was a very selfish giant. The children didn't have a place to play.

They went to the road but it was very dusty and there were hard stones around.

They didn't like playing there. When the school was over they walked around the high walls

and talked about the garden. We were never bored when we played in the garden of the castle.

We were very happy there they said.

Spring came. There were colorful flowers and little birds all over the village.

However in the garden of the selfish giant it was still winter.

There weren't any birds, flowers or children there.

The garden was full of snow.

The giant was alone in his castle.

He sat by the window and looked out at his cold white garden.

Why is spring so late? He thought. I hope it will be hot and sunny soon.

But spring never came to his garden. It was always winter there.

While the other gardens were full of golden fruits in autumn there was only snow and ice in the giant's garden.

One morning the giant was awake in his bed. Suddenly he heard some beautiful music.

There was a little bird singing outside his window.

It is the most beautiful music in the world. He said, I think spring is here at last.

He jumped out of his bed and looked out.

He saw the little children coming in through a hole in the wall.

They started playing in the garden. There was a child sitting in each tree.

The garden had green grass, colorful flowers and singing birds again.

It was still winter only in one part of the garden. There was a little boy under a tree there.

The boy couldn't reach up to the branches of that tree. He walked around the tree and tried to climb

up, but he couldn't. He was very sad and he started crying.

There was still snow and ice on that tree. When the giant saw the little boy he felt very sorry.

How selfish I am, he thought. Now I know why it is always winter here.

I will help that little poor boy climb that tree. Then I will pull down the high wall.

Children can play here forever and ever, so my garden will be very beautiful again.

The giant went down the stairs and got out into the garden.

But when the children saw him, they were so frightened that they ran away.

Only the little boy stayed there. His eyes were full of tears, so he couldn't see the giant coming.

It was winter in the garden again.

The giant came behind the little boy quietly. He held him in his hand gently and put him up into

the tree. Suddenly the birds came and started singing on the branches of the tree.

There were a lot of flowers too. The little boy got very happy and kissed the giant.

The other children saw that the giant wasn't bad and selfish anymore,

so they all went back to the garden. Spring came with them.

It's your garden now, said the giant to the children.

He took a big axe and he pulled the wall down.

The people passing by were surprised to see the giant playing with the children in the garden.

They played all day. In the evening the children came near the giant to say goodbye to him.

But where is your little friend? The giant asked.

I put him on that tree. The giant loved that boy because he kissed him.

We don't know, answered the children. He went away.

The giant said, please tell him to come here tomorrow.

We don't know his house and we don't know him, said the children.

The giant felt very sad. Every afternoon when school finished,

the children came and played with the giant. All the children were there except the little boy.

The giant was kind to all the children, but he wanted to see his first little friend.

He missed him very much.

Years passed and the giant became very old.

He couldn't play games with the children anymore.

He sat on a big chair and watched the children playing in his beautiful garden.

I have many beautiful flowers. He said, but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all.

One winter morning, he looked out of his window. He didn't hate the winter anymore because he knew

the flowers were resting. Suddenly he saw something strange.

He rubbed his eyes and looked at his garden again.

There was a tree with a lot of white flowers on it.

The branches were golden and there were silver fruits on them.

And the little boy that he loved was standing under the tree.

The giant ran down the stairs in excitement and went into the garden.

He came near the boy.

Hello my friend. He said, the boy looked at the giant and smiled.

You were very kind to me and let me play in your garden a long time ago.

Today I will take you to my garden in heaven. He said,

When the children came into the garden that afternoon, they found the giant sleeping under the tree.

There was a nice smile on his face.