The Selfish Giant
Every afternoon, as the children were coming back from school, they used to go and play in the giant's garden。
It was a beautiful large garden。 Beautiful flowers grew in the grass。 There were twelve fruit trees。 In the spring the fruit trees were covered with red and white flowers, and later in the year they bore rich fruit。
The birds sang in the trees so sweetly that sometimes the children stopped their games and listened to them。 "How happy we are here!" they cried to each other。
One day the giant came back。 He had been away for seven years。 When he arrived, he saw the children playing in his garden。
"What are you doing here?" he cried in a very loud voice。 The children ran away。
"My own garden is my own garden," said the giant。
"I will allow no one to play in it but myself。 "So he built a high wall round it and put up a notice: Keep out。 He was a very selfish giant。
So the children had nowhere to play。 They tried to play on the road, but the road was dusty and full of hard stone, and they did not like it。
They wandered round the high walls when their lessons were finished and talked about the beautiful garden inside。 "How happy we were there!" they said to each other。
The spring came, and there were flowers and little birds all over the country。 But in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was till winter the birds did not like to sing in it because there were no children, and the trees forgot to bear flowers。
Snow covered up the grass, and ice covered all the trees with silver。 The north wind came, and driving rain。
"I can't understand why the spring is so late in coming," said the Selfish Giant as he sat at the window of his house and looked out at his cold white garden。
"I hope that there will be a change in the weather。"。