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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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