The Selfish Giant

The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde

Once upon a time, there was a tall, massive, and ugly Giant who was really very selfish by his nature. He had a beautiful garden in his castle. There were beautiful flowering plants, soft grass, and twelve peach trees in his garden. In the spring seasons, peach trees used to bear beautiful pink and pearl flowers, and in autumn, they used to bear rich fruits. The birds used to sit in the trees and sing songs very sweetly.

Every afternoon, many children used to play in that Giant’s garden when they came back from school.

Seven years ago, the Giant had gone to visit his friend named Cornish Ogre. One day, he came back to his castle. He found children playing in his garden. He became quite furious to see that sight. He cried, “What are you doing there?” The children ran away out of fear. The children became quite sad because they didn’t have a proper place to play. They didn’t like to play on the road due to its dust and hard stones. The Giant built a high wall around his garden and put up a notice-board on which he wrote a warning line:

“TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED”

When the season of spring came, there were little blossoms and birds all over the country. But the garden of the selfish Giant became completely desolate. Snow, frost, the north wind and hail came there one by one. The Giant became quite sad because everywhere summer, spring and autumn came but in his garden, there was always winter. One morning, the Giant heard very lovely and sweet music. It was a little linnet singing outside his window. A delicious perfume came to him through the open casement. He thought that the spring had come. He peeped out but saw a wonderful sight. The children had come into the garden through a little hole in the wall. They were sitting in every branch of the trees. The trees were in full bloom. The birds were twittering and singing melodiously. In the farthest corner of the garden, there was standing a very little boy who couldn’t reach the branches. Seeing that sight, the Giant’s heart melted. He said to himself, “How selfish I have been! Now I have understood why spring didn’t come in my garden”. The Giant took the little boy and seated him in the tree. The little boy kissed the Giant feeling happy. The Giant said to the children, “It is your garden now, little children!” Thus, there was again spring throughout the year.

After many years, the Giant became quite old and weak. He kept on watching the children at their games. He didn’t meet the lovable little boy after his first meeting. He inquired about him a lot but couldn’t get any information about him.

One morning, during wintertime, he saw a marvelous sight of a tree in the farthest corner of the garden. He saw white flowers, golden branches, and silver fruits of the tree. He saw the same little boy underneath the tree. He became quite happy and rushed towards him. He became angry to see prints of nails on the little boy’s palms and feet. Eventually, he realized that the little boy was a divine power of God. Once, the Giant had let the little boy play in his garden. The little boy also wanted to take the Giant to his garden of Paradise in return. The Giant died at last and his dead body was completely covered with white flowers.

This story teaches us not to be selfish. We should love and help others as much as we can, especially children.

SHORT SUMMARY OF  The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde

Once upon a time, there was a beautiful garden of the giant in his castle. During the time of his absence, the school children used to play there. After seven years, when the giant returned from his friend cornish Ogre, he became furious to find children playing in his garden. He chased them out of his garden and put a high wall around his garden along with a notice board with a warning line:

“TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED”

The children became quite upset because they didn’t find a proper place to play. Due to the selfish nature of the giant, the spring season stopped appearing in his garden. In other seasons the frost, the north wind, the hail, and the snow started appearing there. The giant became sad to find spring season outside but not in his garden.

One morning, he saw a wonderful sight. He saw the children entering his garden through a small hole in the wall and playing in his garden. He found spring season once again in his garden. He saw a small boy in one of the farthest corners who were unable to climb up the tree and crying. The sight made the giant realize his mistake. He went there and helped the boy. The boy kissed the giant being happy. The giant broke the wall of his garden and allowed all the children to play in his garden. He started playing with them. Time passed by, and the giant became old and feeble. He tried his best to find his lovable boy most of the time but couldn’t find him. One day, while he was sitting on his chair, he saw the same boy once again in one of the corners of the garden. He rushed towards there but became angry to find signs of nails on the boy’s palms and feet. When he asked the boy about him, the boy related to him his help and offered him his garden which was the garden of paradise. That particular afternoon, the giant was found dead underneath a big tree. His body was covered with flowers.