After their school, every afternoon the children used to go to play in the giant’s garden. It was a large garden and lovely too. Over the soft green grass, could be seen innumerable beautiful flowers.
During spring, the peach trees that stood in the garden blossomed into pink and pearl and bore rich fruit. The birds used to chrip and sing sweet songs, that even children used to stop to listen to them.
The giant had been away for seven years, He had gone to be with his friend, the Cornish ogre. When he came back, he saw the children playing in his garden. He ordered them, in a rough voice to go away and never come back. He then built a high wall around his garden and put up a notice board. “Trespassers will be prosecuted.”
The children became sad. They used to wander around the garden, after their school got over. They used to keep gazing at the high wall and kept talking to each other about the beautiful garden. The Giant was a very selfish Giant.
Spring Doesn’t Come to the Selfish Giant’s Garden
Soon the Spring came all over the country, except in the Selfish Giant’s garden. There were little blossoms everywhere and chirping birds. The birds, the trees, the flowers: none of them cared to blossom or celebrate spring as there were no children in the Giant’s garden. The only happy people on the garden were the snow and the frost. The snow and the frost realise that Spring had not come to his garden. So, they decide to stay in the garden for the entire year. They also invited the North wind and the hail to stay with them. The hail came and kept rattling on the roof till it broke most of the slates.
Finally the Spring came to Giant’s Garden
The Giant was unable to understand as to why spring had reached everywhere except for in his garden. He kept waiting but the spring never came, nor did the summer or the Autumn.
One morning, while the Giant lay awake in his bed, he heard lovely music. He thought that the music was being produced by the King’s musicians, who must be passing by. As he saw outside the window, he saw that there were no king’s musicians but a linnet singing. Then, he saw that hail, the snow and the winter were all gone.
He could also smell a delicious perfume. The Giant saw that through a little hole in the wall, the children had crept in. In every tree, he saw a child sitting and the trees were so happy to have the children around that they covered themselves with blossoms. The birds and the flowers, likewise, added to the beauty of the scene and the garden.
One Corner Continued to have Winter
The Giant saw that there continued to be one corner in the garden where spring hadn’t yet arrived. The Giant saw that a little boy was standing there, unable to climb the tree. The Giant realised that he had been selfish and therefore the spring had stayed away. He decided to help the little boy climb the tree and to knock down the wall he had built.
Seeing the Giant, the Children Ran Away from the Garden
When the Giant entered the garden, all the children ran away seeing the Giant. They were very frightened of him. Only the little boy dosen’t run for he hadn’t seen the Giant coming. The Giant gently took the little boy in his arms and put him on the tree. The tree immediately broke into a blossom. The little boy embraced and kissed the Giant and thanked him. The other children seeing all this came running into the garden.
The Giant announced to the children that his garden was now the garden of the children. The children used to come every day to play. The Giant used to be happy seeing the children play, but he could not find the little boy. His eyes used to search every day for the little boy. But years went by, the Giant grew old, but the little boy was never seen again.
One Day he Saw the Little Boy Again
With the movement in nature, the spring had again been replaced by winter. The Giant, however, was shocked one morning to see spring in one of the farthest corners of his garden.
He was surprised to see the little boy again. He ran to meet him, but as he came close to the boy he saw the prints of two nails on his hands and feet. The Giant became red with anger. He wanted to know who had wounded the little boy. He wanted to kill the one who had hurt the boy.
Giant’s Death
At the point, the child answered that these wound are ‘The wounds of love.’ The Giant was filled with awe and knelt before the little boy. The little boy smiled at the Giant and told him that he wanted to take the Giant to his garden, the Paradise. The next day, when the children came to play in the garden, they saw the Giant lying dead under the tree.