The Selfish Giant

📘 About This Book

A selfish giant decides to share his garden in a delightful retelling of Oscar Wilde's classic, spiritual tale.

📖 Summary

The Selfish Giant presents a delightful and touching retelling of Oscar Wilde's classic, spiritual tale tailored for juvenile readers. Across its concise eighteen pages, the narrative explores the transformation of a once-unwelcoming giant who must learn the true meaning of sharing and compassion. At the center of the story is a magnificent garden where children love to play every afternoon upon returning from school. The garden is a place of natural wonder, filled with soft green grass, sweet-smelling flowers, and peach trees that burst into delicate blossoms in the spring and bear rich fruit in the autumn. The birds sing so sweetly in the branches that the children often stop their games just to listen to their enchanting melodies. One day, the giant returns after a long absence of seven years spent visiting his friend the Cornish ogre. Finding the children playing in his garden, he flies into a rage, shouting that his garden is his own and that nobody else has any business playing in it. To keep trespassers out, he builds a high wall all around the property and puts up a notice board warning that trespassers will be prosecuted. Left entirely to itself, the garden suffers profoundly. Spring refuses to visit, and summer forgets to bring its warmth. Frost paints the trees with silver, the North Wind roars through the grounds, and Hail rattles upon the roof day after day. Winter takes permanent residence in the selfish giant's domain, accompanied by Snow and Frost, because the spirit of play and joy has been expelled. The giant sits at his window, looking out at his cold, white, shivering garden, wondering why spring is so terribly late in coming. Then, a miracle occurs. One morning, the giant hears a lovely piece of music outside his window, which turns out to be a little linnet singing. Looking out, he sees that the children have crept back into the garden through a tiny hole in the wall, and they are sitting in the branches of the trees. Every tree that the children occupy has instantly burst into blossom, and the birds are flying about and twittering with delight. Only in one corner of the garden is it still winter, where a little boy stands crying, too small to reach up to the branches of the lonely tree. The giant's heart melts as he looks out upon the scene. He realizes how selfish he has been and resolves to open the garden to the children forevermore. As the giant steps outside, the little boy embraces him, and the garden is restored to eternal warmth and vibrant life.

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