THE SELFISH GIANT

Once upon a time was the Giant who has a large lovely garden. In the garden were beautiful flowers, the peach trees and the birds sat on the trees and sang.

One day the Giant came back. He had been to visit his friend and he had stayed with him for seven years. When he arrived he saw the children playing in his garden. The Giant was angry and he didn´t allow nobody to play in his garden.

Then the spring came, but in the Giant´s garden it was still winter. The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost. The Selfish Giant didn´t understand why the spring is late in coming.

One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music. It was a little linnet singing outside his window. The Giant jumped out of bed and looked out. Through a little hole in the wall the children had crept in and they were sitting in the branches of the trees. In every tree that he could see there was a little child. The trees were so glad to have the children back again.

In one corner it was still winter and in it was standing a little boy. The Giant´s heart melted as he looked out. He knew why the spring wouldn´t come here. After he put that little boy on the top of the tree, then he knocked down the wall and his garden became the children´s playing ground. 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 didn´t run. He stretched out his two arms and flung them the Giant´s neck and he kissed him. When the other children saw that the Giant wasn´t wicked any longer they came back. Every afternoon the children came and played with the Giant, but only the little boy whose the Giant loved was never seen again. Years went over and the Giant grew very old and feeble. When the winter came in the farthest corner of the garden was a tree covered with white blossoms and the little boy stood here. He came near to the boy and they talked.

When the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant lying dead under the tree all covered with white blossoms.