New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1888-10-03
Tale Of the Selfish Giant.

used to go and play in the Giants
garden.
One day the Giant came back. He
had been to visit his friend the Cor
nish ogre, and had stayed with him
for seven years. When he arrived he
saw the children playing in the gar
den.
What are you doing there?' he
cried in a very gruff voice, and the
children ran away.
My own garden is my own gar
den," said the Giant; anyone can
understand that. and I will allow no
body to play in it but myself Sohe
built a high wall all around it and
put up a notice board:
S1respassers will be prosecuted.
He was very selfish Giant.
The poor children had 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. 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 BIOS
som. Once a beautiful flower
put it's 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. ssSpring
has forgotten this garden they
cried, $50 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 roar
ed all day about the garden, and
blew the chimney tops down.
Il can not 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: II 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 the Giants
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. Itsounded so sweet
to his ear that he thought it must
be the Kings musicians passing by.
1t was really only a little linnet sing
ing 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 dance
ing over his head, and the North
Wind ceased roaring, and a delicious
perfume came to him through the
open casemate. II believe the Spring
has come at last" said the Giant:
and he jumped out of bed and looked
out.
What did he see?
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 see there
was a little child. And the trees were
SO glad to. have the children back
again that they had covered them
selves with blossoms, and were wav-
ing their arms gently above the chill
dren's heads. The birds were flying
about tWittering with delight, and
the flowers were looking up through
the green grass and laughing. TWAS
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 bitter
ly. The poor tree was still quite Gov
cred with frost and snow, and the
North Wind was blowing and roar
ing above it. Climb up! little boy, "
said the Tree, and it bent it's branches
down as low as it could; but the boy
was too tiny.
And the Giants heart melted as he
looked out. Glow selfish I have
beenp' he said; 'nov I know why the
Spring would not come here. will
put that poor little boy on the top of
thetree, and then ! will knock down the
wall, and my garden shall be the chill
dren's playground for ever and ever. y
He was really very sorry for what he
had done.
So he crept down stairs and opened
the front door quite softly, and went
out into the garden. But when the
children saw him they were SO fright
L Ii.