The Selfish Giant is a touching and educational fairy tale originally written by the famous British author Oscar Wilde. The story is about a giant who was originally very selfish because he wouldn’t let children into his garden to play, resulting in the garden never having a spring. Later, he changes and becomes kind because of the arrival of a little boy and makes the garden full of life and happiness again. This story tells us a very important truth: only when you are willing to share with others can you get true happiness and warmth.
1. Children’s favorite place.
In a village there is a very beautiful big garden nearby, which is a favorite place for children to play.
The garden was beautiful to look at.
This garden belongs to a giant and is full of green grass and many colorful flowers. There were twelve peach trees, and every spring they were full of pink blossoms, and in the summer they bore sweet-smelling fruits. The air always smells of flowers, the birds sing from the branches, and the sun shines warmly and pleasantly on the grass.
The giant wasn’t at home, and the children had fun.
The giant was not often at home, for he had gone to visit a friend, Hercules of Norway. During this time the garden was unguarded, so the children came here every day after school to play. They ran in the grass, some played hide-and-seek, some climbed trees, some danced among the flowers, and everyone had a great time.
2. The selfish giant returns.
But it didn’t last long. One day the giant suddenly came back.
The giant became angry and chased the children away.
When he came back to the garden and saw a group of children playing in it, he shouted angrily, “What are you doing? This is my garden and no one is allowed in!” When the children heard his roar, they ran away in fear, never daring to go near the garden again.
The giant surrounded the garden.
The giant felt that the garden was his own and did not want to share it with others. He built a high wall around the garden and hung a sign on the gate that said, “No trespassers, expel!” From then on, the garden was his alone.
3. A garden without children is no spring.
When spring came, the rest of the village was full of flowers, and everywhere was filled with the songs of birds and the smell of sunshine. But nothing changed in the giant’s garden.
It’s always winter in the garden.
The trees in the garden don’t sprout, the grass isn’t green, the flowers don’t bloom, the sky is cloudy, and only the cold wind blows. Snow and ice remain in the garden like guests who refuse to leave. The north wind screamed in the air, the hail came down like small stones, and the frost made the whole garden as cold as an ice cellar.
Spring, summer, and fall came and went, but the giant’s garden always remained in winter. With the children gone, those seasons didn’t want to come here either.
The giant felt strange.
Every day, the giant sat at the window, looked at the gray garden, and couldn’t help but complain, “Why doesn’t spring come? I’ve waited so long.” But he didn’t know that spring didn’t even want to go to a place where there was no laughter and joy.
4. An Unexpected Transformation.
One morning the giant was awakened by a wonderful sound.
The garden was suddenly transformed.
The sound was not the king’s band or the wind, but a little red bird singing in a tree. The giant was amazed; he had not heard a bird sing for a long time.
He jumped out of bed and ran quickly to the window, and his eyes widened at the sight before him: the children had returned! They had climbed over the fence and crept into the garden. Some sat under the trees, others ran among the flowers. As if by magic, the trees grew green leaves and flowers, the birds flew back and sang, and the grass was full of colorful flowers.
Spring had finally returned to the garden.
5. A special little boy.
But in the corner of the garden there was another big tree that was still bare, and the snow hadn’t melted yet.
The little boy stood alone under the tree.
There was a little boy under the tree, he was very small, and he was jumping up and down, hoping to climb the tree. But the branches were too high for him to reach. He jumped and jumped and finally sat down on the ground and cried sadly.
The giant changed.
When the giant saw this scene, he suddenly felt very sad inside. He went out of the house and quietly approached the boy. Instead of shouting or getting angry again, he gently picked up the little boy and carefully placed him on a branch of a tree.
A miracle happened – the tree immediately sprouted young shoots and small white flowers, and birds flew in and sang around them. The little boy smiled happily and kissed the giant on the face.
6. Open the door of your heart and open the garden!
When the giant saw that the children were not afraid of him, he finally realized that true happiness is shared with others, not kept to himself.
The giant tore down the wall.
He said aloud to all the children, “Children, from now on, this garden is yours! You can come whenever you want!” With all his strength, he tore down the wall and opened the garden to all the children.
Spring, too, like a guest invited back, never left the place.
7. The search for the little boy.
From that day on, the children came to play in the garden every day. The giant became very happy, sitting under the tree and watching them, often with a smile on his face.
But that special little boy never came back.
The giant looked every day for the child who had kissed him, but no matter how he asked, all the other children said they had never seen him and didn’t know who he was or where he lived.
The giant felt so lost and sad that he sat in the garden every day and waited, hoping that one day he would see the boy again.
8. Years Later, The Giant’s Last Look.
As the years passed, the giant slowly grew old. His hair turned gray and his gait became unsteady. But he still sat in his chair every day and watched the children play.
One cold winter morning, the giant looked out of the window as usual. Suddenly, to his amazement, he saw a tree in the corner of the garden, covered with white flowers, glistening in the sunlight. And standing under the tree was the little boy he had been looking for.
He was overjoyed and immediately walked slowly over to him. He asked excitedly, “Son, is that you? Where have you been all these years?”
The little boy gently replied, “I have come to take you to my garden, which is an eternally beautiful place.
Having said this, he took the giant’s hand and a warm smile appeared on his face.
9. The End of the Story.
That afternoon the other children came to the garden as usual, but they found the giant lying quietly under the big tree with white flowers.
He looked very peaceful, with a smile on his lips, and his body was covered with white flowers. And so the giant left the world, but he was not alone; he went to the garden that the little boy had spoken of – a place called Heaven.
10. What the story tells us.
The Selfish Giant is no ordinary fairy tale, it wants to tell us many truths:
- If we always hide our good things and are not willing to share them with others, even happiness may leave us in the end.
- If we learn to care for others and are willing to help them, we will become happy ourselves.
- Just like the giants, if you are willing to change, even the coldest winter will turn into a warm spring.
This story teaches children and reminds us adults: don’t be too selfish, learn to share, learn to be kind in order to have real friends and real happiness.
