Short Stories: The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde
Every afternoon as they were coming from school, the children used to play in the giant's garden. It was a large lovely garden with soft green grass. Here and there over the grasses stood beautiful flowers like stars and there were twelve peach trees that in the spring time broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit the birds set on the trees and sings sweetly that children used to stop their games to listen to them. "how happy we are here!" They cried to each other
One day the giant came back. He had to visit his friend the Cornish Orge and had stayed with him for 7 years. After the 7 years were over he had said all that he had to say, and he determined to return to his own Castle. When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden.
"What are you doing there?" he cried in a very gruff voice and the children ran away.
"My own garden is my own garden", said the Giant, "anyone can understand that and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself." So he built a high wall all around it and put up a notice board: "Trespassers will be prosecuted".
He was a very selfish giant the poor children had now nowhere to play. They tried to play on the road but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not like it. They used to wander around the hi-ball when their lessons were over and talk about the beautiful garden inside.
"how happy we were there"! they said to each other.
Then the spring came, and all over the country, there were little blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of selfish Giant, it was still winter. The birds did not care to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to Blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the other notice board it was so sorry for the children it slipped back into the ground again, and went off to sleep. The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost."Spring has forgotten this garden", they cried, "so we will live here all the year round." The snow-covered up the grass with her great white cloak and the cross painted all the trees silver. Then they invited the north wind to stay with them and he came. He was stabbed in force and road all day about the garden and believed the chimney pots down."This is a delightful spot", he said, "we must ask the Hail on a visit." So the hail came every day for 3 hours he returned to the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go." I cannot understand why the spring is so late in coming", said the Selfish Giant as he said at the window and looked out at his cold white garden, 'I hope there will be a change in the weather."
But the spring never came to know the summer. Autumn gives golden fruits to every garden' but to the giant's garden she gave none. "he is too selfish," she said. So it was always wintering there and the north wind and the hell and the Frost and the Snow danced about through the trees.
One morning the giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music. It sounded so sweet to his ear that he thought it must be the king's musicians passing by. It was really only a little linnet singing outside his window, but it was so long since we had heard a bird sing in his garden that is the same to him be the most beautiful music in the world. Then the hill stopped dancing over his head and the north wind ceased roaring and a delicious perfume came to him through the open casement.
"I believe the spring has come at last", said the Giant, and he jumped out of bed and looked out.
what did he see?
He saw a most wonderful sight. Through a little hole in the wall, The children's hand crept in. And they were sitting in the branches of trees. In every tree that he could see, there was a little child and the trees were so glad to have the children back again that they covered themselves with blossom and were waving their arms gently above the children's heads. The birds are flying about twittering with delight and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing. It was a lovely seen only in one corner it was still winter. It was the farthest corner of the garden and in it was standing a little boy. He was so small that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree and he was wandering all around it, crying bitterly. The poor tree was still quite covered with Frost and snow. And the north wind was blowing and rolling above it, "Climb up ! little boy", said the tree, and it bent its branches down as low as it could but the boy was putting and the child's heart melted as he looked out how selfish I have been he said now I know why the spelling would not come here I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree and then I will knock down the wall and my garden shall be the children's playground forever and ever he was really very sorry for what he had done.
So he craps stairs and open the front door quite softly and went out into the garden but when the children saw him they were so frightened that they all ran away and the garden became winter again only the little boy did not run for his eyes was so full of tears that he did not see the giant coming and the giant stole up behind him and took him gently in his hand and put him up into the tree and the tree program at once in two blossoms and the birth came and saying on it and the little boy stressed out his two aims and lungs them round the giant snake and kissed him and the other children when they saw that joint was not did any longer came running back and with them came the spring "it is your garden now little children", said the Giant, and he took a great axe and knock down the wall and when the people were going to market at 12 o'clock they found the child playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen.
All day long they played and in the evening they came to the giant to bid him goodbye
"But where is your little companion", he said, "the boy I put into the tree". The Giant loved him the best because he had kissed him.
"We don't know"' answer the children, "he has gone away."
"You must tell him to be sure and come here tomorrow," at the joint but the children said they did not know where he lived and had never seen him before and the giant felt very sad.
Every afternoon, when school was over the children, came and play with the giant. But the little boy whom the Giant loved was never seen again the giant was very kind to all the children as he longs for his first little friend and often spoke of him about how he would like to see him he used to say.
Years went over and the giant was very very cold and fever he could not play about anymore so he sat in a huge chair and watched the children at their games and admired his 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 as he was dressing he did not hate the winter now for he knew that it was only the spelling as sleep and that flowers were resting.
Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder and looked. It certainly was a marvelous sight. In the farthest corner of the garden was a tree quite covered with lovely white Blossom its branches for gold and silver fruits hang down from them and underneath it is written the little boy he had loved.
Downstair rain the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden. He hastened across the grass and came near to the children and when he came quite close his face cream red with angle and he said "who hath dared to wound thee?" For on the palms of little hands what the prints of two nails and the prints of two nails were on the little feet.
"Who hath dared to wound thee?" cried the Giant, "tell me that I may take my sword and Slay him" "Nay !" answer the child," but these are the wounds of love."
"Who are thou?" said the giant and a strange awe fell on him, and he knelt before the little child and the child smiled on the joint and said to him you let me play once in your garden. Today you shall come with me to my garden which is Paradise. And when the children ran in that afternoon they found the giant lying that under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.
0 Comments: