The Selfish Giant (1)

The Selfish Gant (1)

(1)
Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to go and play in the Giant's garden.

It was a large lovely gerden, with soft green grass.

Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve peach-trees that in the spring-time bloomed into deicate blossoms of pink and pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit.

The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them.

" How happy we are here ! " they cried to each other.


One day the Giant came back.

He had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven yaers.

After the seven years were over, their conversation was limited, and he decided to return to his own castle.

When he arrived, he saw the children playing in his gerden.

" What are you doing here ? " he cried in a very sary voice, and the children ran away. 

" My own garden is my own garden, " said the Giant.
" Anyone can understand that, and I will arrow nobody to play in it but myself."

So he bu up ilt a high wall all around the garden, and put up a notice-boad.



He was very selfish Giant.

The poor children now had nowhere to play.

They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did no like it.

They used to wander round the high wall when their lessonswas over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside.
" How happy we were there, " they said to each other.

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Oscar wilde 作の童話です。       

The Selfish Giant (2)

(2)
Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds.

Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it was still winter.

The birds did not want to sing in it as there were no children, and the trees forgot to blossom.

Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice-board it was so sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground sgain,and went off to sleep.

The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost.
" Spring has forgotten this garden, " they cried, "so we will live here all the year round. "

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The Selfish Giant (3)

The Snow covered up the grass with her great white overcoat, and the Frost painted all the trees silver.

Then they invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came.

He was wrapped in furs, and he roaredall day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots down.

" This is a delightful place, " he said, " we must ask the Hail to visit. "

So the Hail came.

Everyday for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle until he broke most of the tiles, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go.

He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice.


" I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming. " said the Selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out his cold white garden.

" I hope there will be a change in the weather. "

But the Spring never came, or the Summer.
The Autumn gave golden fruit to every garden, but to the Giant's garden she gave none.

" He is too selfish, " she said.

So it was always Winter there, and the North Wind, and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the trees.  

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The Selfish Giant (4)

(3)

One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music.

It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the King's musicians passing by.

It was realy only a little linnet singing outside his window, but it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in his garden that it seemed to him to be the most beautiful music in the world.

Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind stopped roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open window.

" I believe the Spring has come at last, " said the Giant.
He jumped out of bed and looked out.

What did he see ?

He saw a most beautiful sight.

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.

And the tree were so glad to have the children back again that they had covered themselves with blossoms, and were waving their arms gently above the children's heads.

The birds were flying about and twittering with delight, and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing.      
    
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The Selfish Giant (5)

(4)

It was a lovely sene, only in one corner it was still winter.

It was the farthest corner of the garden, and in it was standing a little boy.

He was so small that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree, and was wandering all around it, crying bitterly.

The poor tree was still quite covered with frost and snow, and the North Wind was blowing and roaring above it.

"Climb up ! Little boy, " said the tree, and it bent its branches down as low as it could; but the boy was too tiny.

And the Giant's heart melted as he looked out.

" How selfish I have been ! " he said.
" Now I know why Spring would not come here. I will put that poor little boy on top of the tree, and then I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the childen's playground for ever and ever. "

So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and went outinto the garden.

But when the children saw him, they were so frightened that they all ranaway.

The garden became winter again.

Only the little did not run, for his eyes were so full of tears that he he did not see the Giant coming.

The giant crept up behind him and took him gently i his hand, and put him up into the tree.

The tree blossomed at once, the birds came and sang on it.
The little boy stretched out his two arms to the Giant's big face and kissed him.
 
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The Selfish Giant (6)

The other children, when they saw that the Giant was not wicked any longer, came running back, and with them came the Spring.

" It is your garden now, little children, " said the Giant.
He took a great axe and knocked down the wall.
 
When people were going to the market at twelve o'clock they found the Giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen.

All day long they played, and to the evening they came to say good-bye to the Giant.

" But where is your little friend ? " he said;" the boy I put into the tree. "

The Giant loved him the best because he had kissed him.

" We don't know, " answered he children.
" He has gone away. "

" You must tell him to be sure and  come here tomorrow, " said the Giant.

But the childrensaid that they did not know where he loved, and had never seen him before.

Giant felt very sad.

Every afernoon, when school was over, the children came and played with the Giant.

But the little boy whom the Giant loved was never seen again.

The Giant was very kind to all the children, yet he longed for his first little friend, and often spoke of him.
" How I would like to see him ! " he used to say.

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THe Selfish Giant (7)

(5)

Years went past, and the Giant grew old and weak.

He could not play about any more, so he sat in a huge armchair, and watched the children playing their games, and admired his garden.

" I have so many beautiful flowers. "he said.
" But the chidren are the most beautiful flowers. "

One winter morning he looked out of his window as he was dressing.
He did not hate the Winter now, for he knew that it was just the Spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.

Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder, and looked and looked.

It certainly was a mervelous sight.

In the farthest corner of the garden was a tree quite covered with lovely whie blossoms.

Its branches were all golden and silver fruit hung down from them, and underneath it stood the little boy he loved.

Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden.

he hurried across the grass, and came near to the child.

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THe Selfish Giant (8 完)

When he was quite close, his face grew red with anger.

He said, " Who in the world has wounded you ! "

For on the palms of the little boy's hands were the marks of two nails, and marks of two nails were on his little feet too.

" Who in the world has wounded you, " cried Giant.
" Tell me, and I will take my big sword and kill him. "

" No ! " answered the child, " There are the wounds of love. "

" Who are you ? " said the Giant, and he felt a strange awe, and he knelt before the little boy.

The Child smiled at the Giant, and said to him. " You let me play once in your garden, today you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise. "

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



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