Boys and Girls Bookshelf (Vol 2 of 17): Folk-Lore, Fables, And Fairy TalesVarious
General
Boys and Girls Bookshelf (Vol 2 of 17): Folk-Lore, Fables, And Fairy Tales
Various
Children's literature
Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little
blossoms and little birds. Only in the garden of the Selfish Giant it
was still Winter. The birds did not care to sing in it, as there were no
children; and the trees forgot to blossom. Once a beautiful flower put
its head out from the grass, but when it saw the notice board it was so
sorry for the children that it slipped back into the ground again, and
went off to sleep. The only people who were pleased were the Snow and
the Frost. "Spring has forgotten this garden," they cried "so we will
live here all the year round." The Snow covered up the grass with her
great white cloak, and the Frost painted all the trees silver. Then they
invited the North Wind to stay with them, and he came. He was wrapped in
furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots
down. "This is a delightful spot," he said, "we must ask the Hail on a
visit." So the Hail came. Every day for three hours he rattled on the
roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran
round the garden as fast as he could go. He was dressed in gray, and his
breath was like ice.
"I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming," said the
Selfish Giant, as he sat at the window and looked out at his cold, white
garden; "I hope there will be a change in the weather."
But the Spring never came, nor the Summer. The Autumn gave golden fruit
to every garden, but to the Giant's garden she gave none. "He is too
selfish," she said. So it was always Winter there, and the North Wind,
and the Hail, and the Frost, and the Snow danced about through the
trees.
One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely
music. It sounded so sweet to his ears that he thought it must be the
King's musicians passing by. It was really only a little linnet singing
outside his window, but it was so long since he had heard a bird sing in
his garden that it seemed to him to be the most beautiful music in the
world. Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind
ceased roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open
casement. "I believe the Spring has come at last," said the Giant; and
he jumped out of bed and looked out.
What did he see?
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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