The Tale of the Selfish Giant

By Oscar Wilde, Retold by Spirit

Once, in a kingdom far away, there was a lovely garden in which children loved to play. Each day they would climb the trees, admire the flowers, and hear the little birds sing in the garden. Once day a Giant arrived in the little garden.

It belonged to him, and he had finally come home after visiting his cousin the Swamp Ogre for 7 years. “Who gave you permission to play in this garden!” he roared rhetorically and set the children fleeing away down the road.

The next morning, he nailed a big sign on the wall of the garden: TRESPASSERS will be PERSECUTED. The garden fell silent as the children left. The trees didn’t wish to bloom without anyone to climb them, and the birds didn’t enter the garden as they read the sign each day.

The flowers peeped out, but with the children missing, went back to sleep under ground. But the Snow relished the silence, and the Sharp Winter Wind enjoyed clattering around the place so much that he invited his friend the Hail to join him. And so, even though the seasons continued in the world around him, the Giant found only bitter Winter wanted to visit his little garden.

One day, the Giant heard the most beautiful music by his window. Upon opening it, he found a lone linnet. It had been so long that he had gone without music that the linnet’s voice sounded to him the sweetest song. It was then that the Giant understood the beauty of friendship.

From that day, with a changed heart, the Giant welcomed all to his home.