英文版王尔德童话——自私的巨人TheSelfishGiant

2024年3月25日发(作者：常鲤)

The Selfish Giant

Every afternoon, as they were coming from school, the children ud to

go and play in the Giant’s garden.

It was a large lovely garden, with soft green grass. Here and there over

the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars, and there were twelve peach-

trees that in the spring-time broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and

pearl, and in the autumn bore rich fruit. The birds sat on the trees and

sang so sweetly that the children ud to stop their games in order to

listen to them. “How happy we are here!” they cried to each other.

One day the Giant came back. He had been to visit his friend the

Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for ven years. After the ven

years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his conversation

was limited, and he determined to return to his own castle. When he

arrived he saw the children playing in the garden.

“What are you doing here?” he cried in a very gruff voice, and the

children ran away.

“My own garden is my own garden,” said the Giant; “any one can

understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but mylf.” So he

built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board.

TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED

He was a very lfish Giant.

The poor children had now nowhere to play. they tried to play on the

road, but the road was very dusty and full of hard stones, and they did not

like it. They ud to wander round the high wall when their lessons were

over, and talk about the beautiful garden inside. “How happy we were

there,” they said to each other.

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 is slipped back into the ground again, and wnet off to sleep.

The only people who were plead 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 will them, and he came. He was wrapped in furs, and he roared all

day about the garden, and blew the chimneypots 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 the

garden as fast as he could go. He was dresd in grey, 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

lfish,” 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 emed to him to be the most beautiful music in the

world. Then the Hail stopped dancing over his head, and the North Wind

cead roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open

cament. “I believe the Spring has come as last,” said the Giant; and he

jumped out of bed and looked out.

What did he e?

He saw a most wonderful sight. Through a little hole in the wall the

children had crept in, and they were sitting in the branches of the trees. In

every tree that he could e there was a little child. And the trees were so

glad to have the children back again that they had covered themlves

with blossoms, and were waving their arms gently above the children’s

heads. The birds were flying about and twittering with delight, and the

flowers were looking up through the green grass and laughing. It was a

lovely scene, only in one corner it was still winter. It was the farthest

corner of the garden, and in it was standing a little boy. He was so small

that he could not reach up to the branches of the tree, and he was

wandering all round it, crying bitterly. The poor tree was still quite

covered with frost and snow, and the North Wind was blowing and

roaring above it. “Climb up! Little boy,” said the Tree, and it bent its

branches down as low as it could; but the boy was too tiny.

And the Giant’s heart melted as he looked out. “How lfish I have

been!” he said, “now I know why the Spring would not come here. I will

put that poor little boy on the top of the tree, and then I will knock down

the wall, and my garden shall be the children’s playground for ever and

ever.” He was really very sorry for what he had done.

So he crept downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and went

out into the garden. But when the children saw him they were so

frightened that they all ran away, and the garden became winter again.

Only the little boy did not run, for his eyes were so full of tears that he

did not e the Giant coming. And the Giant stole up behind him and took

him gently in his hand, and put him up into the tree. And the tree broke at

once into blossom, and the birds came and sang on it, and the little boy

stretched out his two arms and flung them round the Giant’s neck, and

kisd him. And the other children, when they saw that the Giant was

wicked any longer, came running back, and with them came the Spring.

“it is your garden now, little children,” said the Giant, and he took a great

axe and knocked down the wall. And when the people were going to

market at twelve o’clock they found the Giant playing with children in

the most beautiful garden they had ever en.

All day long they played, and in the evening they came to the Giant to

bid him good-bye.

“But where is your little companion?” he said, “the boy I put into the

tree.” The Giant loved him the best becau he had kisd him.

“We don’t know,” answered the children, “he has gone away.”

“You must tell him to be sure and come here tomorrow,” said the Giant.

But the children said that they did not know where he lived, and had

never en him before; and the Giant felt very sad.

Every afternoon, when school was over, the children came and played

with the Giant.

But the little boy whom the Giant loved was never en again. The

Giant was very kind to all the children, yet he longed for his first little

friend, and often spoke of him.

“How I would like to e him!” he ud to say.

Years went over, and the Giant grew very old and feeble. He could not

play about any more, so he sat in a huge armchair, and watched the

children at their games, and admired his garden. “I have many beautiful

flowers,” he said, “but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all.”

One winter morning he looked out of his window as he was dressing.

He did not hate the Winter now, for he knew that it was merely the Spring

asleep, and that the flowers were resting.

Suddenly he rubbed his eyes in wonder, and looked and looked. It

certainly was a marvelous sight. In the farthest corner of the garden was a

tree quite covered with lovely white blossoms. Its branches were all

golden, and silver fruit hung down from them, and underneath it stood the

little boy he had loved.

Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden. He

hastened across the grass, and came near to the child. And when he came

quite clo his face grew red with anger, and he said, “Who hath dared to

wound thee?” For on the palms of the child’s hands were the prints of two

nails, and the prints of two nails were on the little feet.

“Who hath dared to wound thee?” cried the Giant, “tell me, that I may

take my big sword and slay him.”

“Nay!” answered the child; “but the are the wounds of Love.”

“Who art thou?” said the Giant, and a strange awe fell on him, and he

knelt before the little child.

And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, “You let me play

once in your garden, today you shall come with me to my garden, which

is Paradis.”

And when the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant lying

dead under the tree, all covered with white blossoms.