The Selfish Giant
Chapter One: The Garden of Joy
Once upon a time, in a faraway land, there was a magnificent garden. It belonged to a very big, very tall, and very grumpy Giant. The garden was the most beautiful place in the entire village—perhaps in the entire world. It had soft, green grass like velvet, colorful flowers that danced in the breeze, and twelve peach trees that bloomed with golden blossoms every spring.
But here’s a secret: for a long, long time, the Giant was not home. He had gone to visit his friend, the Cornish Ogre, in the mountains, and stayed there for seven years!
While the Giant was away, the children from the nearby village discovered the garden. They crawled in through a little hole in the stone wall and played happily every day after school. The birds sang with them, the trees swayed with joy, and the flowers opened wide to see the laughter and games.
The garden was full of life, and the seasons passed joyfully.
Chapter Two: The Giant Returns
One morning, just as the daffodils were beginning to bloom again, the Giant came home.
He walked into his garden, and what did he see?
Children. Everywhere.
They were playing tag beneath the peach trees, swinging from the low branches, building tiny flower forts, and rolling in the soft grass.
The Giant frowned. “What are you doing here?” he growled.
The children froze in fear. They dropped their sticks, their flowers, and their giggles. Without a word, they ran away through the hole in the wall.
“My garden is mine,” the Giant grumbled. “I will not allow anyone else to play here.”
So, he built a tall, grey wall all around the garden and nailed a sign to it:
NO TRESPASSING. NO CHILDREN. NO PLAYING.
He also locked the gate with a heavy iron key and kept it in his coat pocket at all times.
Chapter Three: The Garden Grows Cold
Without the children, everything changed.
Spring came—but not to the Giant’s garden.
In every other part of the village, flowers bloomed, bees buzzed, and the sun shone brightly. But in the Giant’s garden, it was still winter. The trees forgot how to bud. The flowers forgot how to open. The birds refused to sing.
“I cannot understand it,” the Giant muttered. “Why won’t Spring come here?”
Then, Winter whispered through the leafless trees: “The children brought Spring. Without them, I shall stay.”
So Winter settled into the garden. He brought frost and snow and sharp little winds. The North Wind howled day and night. Hail pelted the branches. The garden became a land of silence and sadness.
And the Giant, though he would never admit it, began to feel lonely.
Chapter Four: A Mysterious Change
One morning, after many years, the Giant sat by his window. He sipped his tea and stared out at his grey garden.
But wait—what was that?
A tiny patch of blue sky peeked through the clouds. The wind had stopped. And—was that a bird singing?
The Giant jumped to his feet and ran to the window.
In the far corner of the garden, he saw something extraordinary: a single tree was in bloom! Its branches were golden with blossoms, birds chirped on every branch, and underneath it…
Were children.
They had found their way in through a hole in the wall.
One little boy was standing beneath the tree, trying to reach the lowest branch. His arms were too short, and he looked very small and very sad.
The Giant felt something shift in his heart. It was like ice melting after a long, cold winter.
“How selfish I have been,” he whispered. “Now I know why Spring never came.”
Chapter Five: The Giant’s Change of Heart
The Giant picked up his coat, not to guard the garden—but to go outside.
He walked slowly across the frosty grass toward the children. When they saw him, they froze again. Some began to run.
But the Giant raised his hand gently. “No, wait,” he said. “Don’t go. I’m sorry.”
Then he walked over to the little boy who could not reach the tree. The Giant smiled, bent down, and lifted the child into the air so he could reach the lowest branch.
As soon as the little boy touched the tree, the blossoms opened wider, the birds sang louder, and the snow melted away like magic.
The other children saw this and rushed back into the garden with laughter and joy. The trees remembered how to grow. The flowers remembered how to bloom. Spring returned, dancing in with sunshine and soft petals.
The Giant laughed for the first time in years. “This is your garden now, children,” he said. “Come and play whenever you like.”
And he knocked down the wall with his huge hands.
Chapter Six: The Most Special Child
From that day on, the garden was full of children, laughter, sunshine, and flowers. The Giant played with them every day after tea. He built them a swing from an old tree branch, helped them plant wildflower seeds, and told them silly stories.
But the little boy he had helped—the one he lifted into the tree—was never seen again.
“Where is he?” the Giant asked. “He was the smallest, but he touched my heart the most.”
No one knew. The children had never seen him before that day.
Chapter Seven: The End of Winter
The years passed. The Giant grew older and slower. His beard turned as white as snow. He couldn’t play like he used to, but he would still sit in a big wooden chair under his favorite tree and watch the children laugh.
“This garden is my joy,” he’d often say. “It is always Spring here now.”
But one cold morning, something unusual happened.
The Giant looked out and saw frost on the grass.
“Strange,” he muttered. “It is not the season for Winter.”
He got up and walked into the garden. Everything was bright and blooming—except one corner.
There, under the same tree where he had lifted the little boy so many years ago, stood that very same child.
The tree was blooming with silver blossoms. Its fruit was made of gold. And the child smiled, his face glowing like sunlight.
The Giant ran to him, overjoyed. “Where have you been?” he asked. “I’ve missed you.”
The child smiled gently. “You let me play once in your garden. Today, I have come to take you to mine.”
“Your garden?” the Giant asked.
“Yes,” said the child. “It is called Paradise.”
Chapter Eight: A Garden Forever
Later that day, the children came to play, as always. But they found the Giant lying peacefully beneath the blooming tree. His face was calm and smiling.
The garden seemed even more magical that day. The silver blossoms shone, and a soft breeze sang a lullaby through the branches.
The children didn’t cry. They sat quietly for a moment, then began to play again—because they knew the Giant would always be part of the garden.
And the seasons never left again.
