The Selfish Giant

The Selfish Giant is a short story by Oscar Wilde. He wrote it in 1888. It is in the same book as The Happy Prince. Many people love this fairy tale.

The story starts in a beautiful garden. Every afternoon, children come and play there after school. There is soft green grass. There are pretty flowers and twelve peach trees. Birds sing in the trees. The children are very happy there.

But the garden is a Giant's garden. He goes away for seven years. Then one day he comes back. He sees the children and gets angry. "This is my garden," he says. "It is only for me." He makes a high wall around it. He puts up a sign. It says, "Do not come in."

Now the children have no place to play. Then a strange thing happens. Spring comes to every other place, but not to the Giant's garden. There, it is winter all year. The Snow, the Frost, the North Wind and the Hail like the cold, empty garden. They are happy to live there.

Why does Spring not come? And what can change the Giant's cold heart? Let's read the story and find out.

Let's look at the Giant and his wall.

The Giant goes away for seven years. He visits his friend, another big monster called an ogre. When he comes home, he finds children in his garden. He speaks in a loud, angry voice. The children are afraid, and they run away.

He is a selfish Giant. He wants to keep the garden for himself. So he makes a high wall all around it. He also puts up a sign. It says, "People who come in will be in big trouble."

But being selfish is not free. Spring comes to the rest of the world. But his garden stays very cold. The trees do not have flowers. The birds do not want to sing. Only the Snow and the Frost are happy. "Spring forgot this garden," they say. The Giant sits by his window. He thinks, "Why is it always so cold?"

One morning, the Giant hears a small bird outside his window. It is singing. To him, it is the most beautiful music in a long time. Then the Hail stops. The North Wind becomes quiet. A sweet smell comes in through the window. Spring is here at last.

The Giant looks out. He sees a wonderful thing. The children have come in through a little hole in the wall. Now they are sitting in the trees. And the trees have flowers again.

But one corner is still in winter. A little boy is there. He is too small, and he cannot climb the tree. He stands and cries. The North Wind is still blowing over him.

Then the Giant's heart becomes warm. "I was so selfish!" he says. He goes out quietly. He picks up the little boy and puts him in the tree. At once, the tree is full of flowers. The other children come back. The Giant takes a big axe and breaks the wall down. Now the garden is the children's garden forever.

Many years go by. The Giant becomes old and weak. He cannot play now. So he sits in a big chair and watches the children play. He loves all of them. But he cannot forget the little boy from the tree. He wants to see him again.

One winter morning, the Giant looks out. He sees a wonderful thing. In the far corner, there is a tree with white flowers. Under the tree is the little boy he loved.

The Giant is very happy, and he runs out. But then he comes near. He sees that the boy has wounds on his hands and feet. They come from two nails. "Who did this to you?" the Giant shouts. "Tell me! I will kill him with my sword."

"No," the boy says. "These are the wounds of Love." The Giant is very surprised, and he gets down on his knees in front of the boy. The boy smiles. He says, "You let me play in your garden. Today you will come with me to my garden. It is Paradise, the garden of God."

In the afternoon, the children come to the garden. They find the old Giant under the tree. He is dead, and white flowers cover his body.

The Selfish Giant is a short story written by Oscar Wilde in 1888. It appears in the same collection as The Happy Prince, and it is one of his best-loved fairy tales.

The story opens in a beautiful garden. Every afternoon, children come to play there on their way home from school. The garden is full of soft green grass, lovely flowers, and twelve peach trees. Birds sing in the branches, and the children are filled with happiness.

However, the garden belongs to a Giant. One day, after spending seven years away, he returns home. When he finds the children in his garden, he becomes very angry. "My own garden is my own garden," he declares. He builds a high wall all around it and puts up a sign saying that no one is allowed to enter.

Now the children have nowhere to play. Then something strange happens. Spring arrives everywhere in the country, but it does not come to the Giant's garden. In fact, it remains winter there all year round. The Snow, the Frost, the North Wind, and the Hail are delighted to stay in the cold, empty garden.

Why does Spring refuse to come? And what will finally melt the Giant's cold heart? That is what the story of The Selfish Giant is about.

Let us take a closer look at the Giant and his wall.

The Giant has been away for seven years, staying with his friend, an ogre from Cornwall in England. When he finally comes home, he discovers children playing in his garden. He shouts at them in a rough, unfriendly voice, and they run away in fear.

The Giant is truly selfish. He wants to keep the garden all to himself. So he builds a high wall around the whole garden and puts up a notice warning that anyone who comes in will be punished.

However, his selfishness comes at a cost. When Spring arrives in the rest of the world, his garden remains frozen. The trees forget to produce blossoms, and the birds have no wish to sing. Only the Snow and the Frost are pleased. "Spring has forgotten this garden," they say happily. Meanwhile, the Giant sits at his window, wondering why the cold refuses to leave.

One morning, the Giant hears a little bird singing outside his window. It is a linnet, a small brown songbird, and its song is the most beautiful music he has heard in a long time. At that very moment, the Hail stops falling, the North Wind becomes quiet, and a sweet smell drifts in through the open window. At last, Spring has arrived.

The Giant looks outside and sees something wonderful. The children have crept in through a small hole in the wall. They are sitting in the branches, and the trees are covered with blossoms once again.

In one corner of the garden, however, it is still winter. A little boy is too small to climb the tree there, so he is standing beneath it, crying. The North Wind is still blowing above him.

Suddenly, the Giant's heart melts. "How selfish I have been!" he says to himself. He goes out quietly, gently lifts the little boy into the tree, and the tree immediately bursts into blossom. The other children return, and the Giant takes a huge axe and knocks down the wall. From then on, the garden belongs to all the children forever.

Years go by, and the Giant becomes old and weak. He can no longer play, so he sits in a large armchair and watches the children enjoying their games. He loves every one of them, but he never forgets the little boy he once lifted into the tree. He wishes very much to see him again.

One winter morning, the Giant looks out of his window and sees an amazing sight. In the farthest corner of the garden stands a tree covered with white blossoms, and beneath it is the little boy he had loved.

Filled with joy, the Giant hurries outside. However, as he comes closer, he notices that the child has wounds on his hands and feet — the marks of two nails. "Who has dared to hurt you?" the Giant cries. "Tell me, and I will take my sword and kill him."

"No," the child replies. "These are the wounds of Love." Full of wonder, the Giant kneels down in front of the little child. The child smiles at him and says, "Once you let me play in your garden. Today you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise."

That afternoon, when the children arrive, they find the old Giant lying dead under the tree, completely covered with white blossoms.

The Selfish Giant is a short story that Oscar Wilde published in 1888. It belongs to the same collection as The Happy Prince and has long been cherished as one of the most enduring of his fairy tales.

The narrative opens in an exquisite garden, where children gather every afternoon to play once their lessons are over. Its lawns are carpeted with soft green grass, studded with flowers, and shaded by twelve peach trees, among whose branches birds sing so sweetly that the children pause in their games to listen.

The garden, however, is the property of a Giant who returns one day from an absence of seven years. Incensed at the sight of the young intruders, he proclaims with petulant finality, "My own garden is my own garden." He promptly encloses it within a towering wall and erects a notice forbidding anyone to enter.

Deprived of their playground, the children are left with nowhere to go, and a curious phenomenon ensues. Spring sweeps across the entire country yet pointedly bypasses the Giant's estate, which remains locked in perpetual winter. The Snow, the Frost, the North Wind, and the Hail, for their part, are only too pleased to take up residence in the desolate, frozen garden.

Why does Spring withhold its blessing? And what could ever thaw the Giant's frozen heart? Those are the questions on which the story turns.

It is worth examining the Giant and his wall in greater detail.

For seven years, the Giant has been lodging with his friend the Cornish ogre. On returning, he discovers the children frolicking in his garden and addresses them in so gruff and menacing a voice that they scatter in terror.

The Giant is selfishness personified. Determined to keep the garden for his exclusive enjoyment, he surrounds it with a lofty wall and erects a notice-board warning that trespassers will be punished.

Yet his selfishness exacts a heavy toll. While Spring revives the rest of the world, his garden remains in the grip of an unrelenting frost. The trees neglect to blossom, and the birds, finding no children to delight, lose all inclination to sing. Only the Snow and the Frost rejoice, exulting that "Spring has forgotten this garden." The Giant, meanwhile, sits disconsolately at his window, utterly baffled as to why the cold persists.

One morning, the Giant is roused by the song of a small bird outside his window. It is merely a linnet, yet its melody strikes him as the most exquisite music he has heard in years. In that instant, the Hail ceases its assault, the North Wind falls silent, and a delicate fragrance wafts in through the casement. Spring, it seems, has finally relented.

Gazing out, the Giant beholds a breathtaking spectacle. The children have stolen in through a tiny breach in the wall and perched themselves among the branches, and the trees, as if overjoyed at their return, are once more festooned with blossom.

In one remote corner, however, winter stubbornly lingers. There, a little boy too diminutive to reach the lowest branches stands weeping, while the North Wind continues to roar above his head.

At this sight, the Giant's heart finally thaws. "How selfish I have been!" he exclaims. Stealing softly outside, he lifts the child tenderly into the tree, which instantly erupts into bloom. The other children, emboldened, come flocking back, and the Giant seizes a mighty axe and demolishes the wall. Henceforth the garden is to belong to the children in perpetuity.

The years slip by, and the Giant grows aged and infirm. No longer able to join in the play, he reclines in an enormous armchair, contentedly watching the children at their games. Though he cherishes them all, the memory of the little boy he once lifted into the tree never deserts him, and he yearns to set eyes on him once more.

One winter morning, glancing out of his window, the Giant is confronted by a marvel. In the remotest corner of the garden stands a tree laden with white blossoms, its golden branches arching over the very child he had loved.

Overcome with elation, the Giant rushes out. As he draws nearer, however, he perceives that the child's palms and feet bear wounds — the imprints of two nails. "Who hath dared to wound thee?" the Giant thunders, his fury rising. "Tell me, and I will take my great sword and slay him."

"Nay," the child replies serenely, "but these are the wounds of Love." Seized by an inexplicable awe, the Giant sinks to his knees before the child, who smiles and declares, "You let me play once in your garden; today you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise."

That afternoon, the children discover the old Giant lying lifeless beneath the tree, his body shrouded in white blossoms.