The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde - Full Audiobook - video Dailymotion

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00:00Gates of Imagination presents The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde

00:07Read by Arthur Lane

00:08Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children used to go and play in the giant's garden.

00:18It was a large lovely garden with soft green grass.

00:21Here and there, over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars,

00:25and there were twelve peach trees that in the springtime broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl

00:31and in the autumn bore rich fruit.

00:34The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them.

00:41How happy we are here! they cried to each other.

00:46One day, the giant came back.

00:49He had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre and had stayed with him for seven years.

00:55After the seven years were over, he had said all that he had to say,

00:59for his conversation was limited, and he determined to return to his own castle.

01:05When he arrived, he saw the children playing in the garden.

01:09What are you doing there? he cried in a very gruff voice, and the children ran away.

01:15My own garden is my own garden, said the giant.

01:20Anyone can understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself.

01:25So he built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice board.

01:30Trespassers will be prosecuted.

01:33He was a very selfish giant.

01:35The poor children had now nowhere to play.

01:38They tried to play on the road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones,

01:43and they did not like it.

01:45They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons were over,

01:48and talk about the beautiful garden inside.

01:51How happy we were there, they said to each other.

01:55Then the spring came, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds.

02:02Only in the garden of the selfish giant it was still winter.

02:06The birds did not care to sing in it, as there were no children,

02:10and the trees forgot to blossom.

02:11Once a beautiful flower put its head out from the grass,

02:16but when it saw the notice board it was so sorry for the children

02:20that it slipped back into the ground again and went off to sleep.

02:24The only people who were pleased were the snow and the frost.

02:27Spring has forgotten this garden, they cried.

02:31So we will live here all the year round.

02:35The snow covered up the grass with her great white cloak,

02:38and the frost painted all the trees silver.

02:41Then they invited the north wind to stay with them,

02:44and he came.

02:45He was wrapped in furs,

02:47and he roared all day about the garden and blew the chimney pots down.

02:51This is a delightful spot, he said.

02:53We must ask the hail on a visit.

02:56So the hail came.

02:58Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle

03:01till he broke most of the slates,

03:03and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go.

03:07He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice.

03:10I cannot understand why the spring is so late in coming,

03:15said the selfish giant,

03:16as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold white garden.

03:20I hope there will be a change in the weather.

03:23But the spring never came, nor the summer.

03:27The autumn gave golden fruit to every garden,

03:30but to the giant's garden she gave none.

03:33He is too selfish, she said.

03:36So it was always winter there,

03:38and the north wind, and the hail, and the frost,

03:42and the snow danced about through the trees.

03:45One morning the giant was lying awake in bed

03:47when he heard some lovely music.

03:50It sounded so sweet to his ears

03:52that he thought it must be the king's musicians passing by.

03:56It was really only a little linnet singing outside his window,

03:59but it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in his garden

04:02that it seemed to him to be the most beautiful music in the world.

04:06Then the hail stopped dancing over his head,

04:10and the north wind ceased roaring,

04:12and a delicious perfume came to him through the open casement.

04:15I believe the spring has come at last, said the giant,

04:19and he jumped out of bed and looked out.

04:21What did he see?

04:23He saw a most wonderful sight.

04:25Through a little hole in the wall the children had crept in,

04:28and they were sitting in the branches of the trees.

04:31In every tree that he could see there was a little child,

04:35and the trees were so glad to have the children back again

04:38that they had covered themselves with blossoms

04:40and were waving their arms gently above the children's heads.

04:45The birds were flying about and twittering with delight,

04:49and the flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing.

04:52It was a lovely scene.

04:54Only in one corner it was still winter.

04:56It was the farthest corner of the garden,

05:00and in it was standing a little boy.

05:02He was so small that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree,

05:06and he was wandering all round it, crying bitterly.

05:10The poor tree was still quite covered with frost and snow,

05:14and the north wind was blowing and roaring above it.

05:17Climb up, little boy, said the tree,

05:20and it bent its branches down as low as it could,

05:23but the boy was too tiny.

05:25And the giant's heart melted as he looked out.

05:30How selfish I have been, he said.

05:33Now I know why the spring would not come here.

05:37I will put that poor little boy on the top of the tree,

05:40and then I will knock down the wall,

05:41and my garden shall be the children's playground forever and ever.

05:44He was really very sorry for what he had done.

05:49So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly,

05:53and went out into the garden.

05:56But when the children saw him,

05:58they were so frightened that they all ran away,

06:01and the garden became winter again.

06:03Only the little boy did not run,

06:07for his eyes were so full of tears

06:09that he did not see the giant coming.

06:12And the giant stole up behind him

06:15and took him gently in his hand

06:17and put him up into the tree.

06:20And the tree broke at once into blossom,

06:22and the birds came and sang on it.

06:25And the little boy stretched out his two arms

06:28and flung them round the giant's neck

06:30and kissed him.

06:32And the other children,

06:33when they saw that the giant was not wicked any longer,

06:36came running back,

06:37and with them came the spring.

06:40It is your garden now, little children,

06:42said the giant.

06:43And he took a great axe

06:44and knocked down the wall.

06:47And when the people were going to market at twelve o'clock,

06:50they found the giant playing with the children,

06:52in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen.

06:55All day long they played,

06:57and in the evening they came to the giant

06:59to bid him goodbye.

07:01But where is your little companion?

07:04He said.

07:05The boy I put into the tree.

07:08The giant loved him the best

07:10because he had kissed him.

07:12We don't know, answered the children.

07:15He has gone away.

07:17You must tell him to be sure

07:18and come here tomorrow, said the giant.

07:21But the children said

07:23that they did not know where he lived

07:24and had never seen him before

07:26and the giant felt very sad.

07:29Every afternoon when school was over,

07:31the children came and played with the giant.

07:34But the little boy,

07:35whom the giant loved,

07:36was never seen again.

07:38The giant was very kind to all the children,

07:41yet he longed for his first little friend

07:43and often spoke of him.

07:45How I would like to see him,

07:48he used to say.

07:50Years went over,

07:51and the giant grew very old and feeble.

07:55He could not play about anymore,

07:56so he sat in a huge armchair

07:58and watched the children at their games

08:00and admired his garden.

08:03I have many beautiful flowers, he said,

08:06but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all.

08:09One winter morning he looked out of his window

08:12as he was dressing.

08:14He did not hate the winter now,

08:16for he knew that it was merely the spring asleep

08:18and that the flowers were resting.

08:21Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder

08:23and looked and looked.

08:25It certainly was a marvellous sight.

08:28In the farthest corner of the garden

08:30was a tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms.

08:34Its branches were all golden

08:35and silver fruit hung down from them

08:38and underneath it stood the little boy

08:40he had loved.

08:42Downstairs ran the giant in great joy

08:45and out into the garden.

08:48He hastened across the grass

08:49and came near to the child,

08:51and when he came quite close

08:52his face grew red with anger

08:54and he said,

08:55Who hath dared to wound thee?

08:58For on the palms of the child's hands

09:00were the prints of two nails,

09:03and the prints of two nails

09:04were on the little feet.

09:06Who hath dared to wound thee?

09:08cried the giant.

09:10Tell me,

09:10that I may take my big sword

09:12and slay him.

09:14Nay, answered the child,

09:16but these are the wounds of love.

09:19Who art thou?

09:21said the giant,

09:22and a strange oar fell on him,

09:24and he knelt before the little child.

09:26And the child smiled on the giant

09:29and said to him,

09:30You let me play once in your garden,

09:32Today you shall come with me

09:34to my garden,

09:35which is paradise.

09:38And when the children ran

09:39in that afternoon,

09:40they found the giant lying dead

09:42under the tree,

09:43all covered with white blossoms.

09:45Thank you for listening.

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The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde - Full Audiobook

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