The selfish giant

“The selfish giant”, Oscar Wilde
This short story talks about a Giant that owns a beautiful garden, in which children love to play. When the giant found thechildren playing in the garden he became furious and expelled the children, and builds a wall to keep them out. As a consequence of this, the garden is condemnedto perpetual winter. One day, the giant is awakened by linnet and discovers that spring has returned to the garden, as the children have found a way in through agap in the wall. He sees the error of his ways, and resolves to destroy the wall, however, when he emerges from his castle, all the children run away, except oneboy, who is crying so much that he does not notice the giant. The giant helps the boy into a tree that he wants to climb; the boy kisses him in return. Thegiant announces: "It is your garden now, little children," and knocks down the wall; the children once more play in the garden, and spring returns. But the boy thatthe Giant helped does not, and the Giant is heartbroken. Many years later, the Giant is old and feeble, and awakes, one winter morning, to see the trees in onepart of his garden in full blossom. He descends from the castle, to discover the boy that he once helped lying beneath a beautiful white tree that the Giant hasnever seen before. The Giant sees that the boy bears the stigmata. He does not realize at first that the boy is actually the Christ Child. The Giant is furious atthe idea that somebody has wounded him. Shortly afterwards the giant dies; that same afternoon his body was found lying under the tree, covered in blossoms.