The Giant Comes Home.

CHAPTER 1

THE GIANT COMER HOME.

Every afternoon, when school finishes, the children play in the Giant´s garden.

It´s a wonderful, big, green garden. There are beautiful flowers in it, and twelve tall trees. Birds like sitting and singing in these trees. The children often stop playing and listen to them. We´re very happy here. They say

For seven years, the Giant stays away in Cornwall, at the house of his friend the Cornish Giant. Then, one day, he comes home, and he finds all the children in the garden.

¿What are you doing here? He cries angrily, and the children run away.

It´s my garden!, the Giant Says. People must understand! And nobody can play here-only me!

So he puts a wall around the garden, with a big notice on it.

He is a very selfish Giant.

Where can the children go now? They don’t like playing in the road. So after school, they remember the beautiful garden behind in too.

CHAPTER 2

ALWAYS WINTER

Then the spring comes. All over the country there are spring flowers and little birds in the green trees. But in the Selfish Giant´s garden it stays winter.

The birds don´t want to sing in it, because there are no children. The trees there stay dark. One beautiful flower puts its head up out of the ground. But it sees the notice, and is very sorry for the children. So it goes back under the ground and sleeps again.

Nobody is happy about this-only the Snow and the Frost. Spring doesn´t come to this garden! they cry. So we can live here all year! Ha! Ha! The Snow puts her cold, white coat on the ground, and the frost puts silver on the dark trees.

They tell the North Wind, You must stay with us! So he comes in his big, brown coat. He makes lots of noise up and down the garden, and he moves things here and there all day.

This is wonderful! He cries. Let´s ask the Hail here, too! 

So the Hail comes. Every day he sits on the roof of the Giant´s big, old house. He never stops hitting it noisily, hour after hour. His suit is the colour of smoke. And cold smoke comes from his mouth when he opens it.

The Selfish Giant sits at his window. He looks out at his cold, white garden.

I don´t understand, he says. The Spring´s very late this year. When is it coming? And when is this winter finishing?

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