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Short Summary of the chapter: The Selfish Giant
The story The Selfish Giant is about a big garden and a selfish Giant. Every afternoon, children used to come and play happily in the Giant’s garden. The garden was very beautiful with green grass, colourful flowers, twelve peach trees, and sweet singing birds.
After seven years, the Giant returned from his friend’s house, the Cornish ogre. He saw the children playing and became angry. He built a high wall around his garden and put up a notice board that said, “Trespassers will be prosecuted.” The children became sad because they had nowhere to play.
Spring came everywhere, but in the Giant’s garden, it was always winter. Snow, Frost, North Wind, and Hail lived there happily. One morning, the Giant heard the sweet song of a linnet. He saw that the children had come back into the garden through a small hole in the wall. Wherever the children played, the garden became colourful again.
In one corner, it was still winter. A small boy was crying because he could not climb the tree. The Giant’s heart melted. He helped the boy climb the tree. The tree blossomed at once. The boy hugged and kissed the Giant.
The Giant broke the wall and let the children play freely. But the little boy whom the Giant loved disappeared. The Giant missed him every day.
Many years passed. The Giant became old and weak. One winter morning, he saw the same little boy under a tree full of golden and silver fruits. The boy had wounds on his hands and feet. The Giant asked him who had hurt him.
The boy said, “These are the wounds of love.” Then he invited the Giant to his own garden, which was paradise. That afternoon, the children found the Giant lying dead under the tree, covered with white blossoms.
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Detailed Summary of the chapter: The Selfish Giant
The Children Loved the Giant’s Garden :Every afternoon, children used to play in the Giant’s big and lovely garden. The grass was soft and green. Beautiful flowers grew like stars on it. There were twelve peach trees that gave pink and pearl flowers in spring and sweet fruits in autumn. Birds sat on trees and sang sweet songs. The children felt very happy there.
The Giant Returned After Seven Years :One day, the Giant came back after staying for seven years with his friend, the Cornish ogre. When he saw the children playing, he became very angry. He said, “My own garden is my own garden.” He built a high wall around it and put a notice board that said, “TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED.” The poor children became sad. They had no good place to play now.
Winter Stayed in the Garden :Spring came in the whole country. Flowers bloomed, birds sang, and trees blossomed everywhere. But in the Giant’s garden, it was still winter. No birds sang there. No flowers grew. A small flower once looked out but became sad after seeing the notice and went back. Snow and Frost were happy to live there. They called the North Wind and the Hail to stay with them. They made the garden cold and lifeless all the time.
The Giant Felt Sad :The Giant did not understand why Spring was so late. He became sad sitting at the window, looking at the white garden. Neither Spring nor Summer nor Autumn came. It was always winter because the Giant was selfish.
The Lovely Music of a Bird :One morning, the Giant heard a sweet song. It was a little linnet singing outside his window. It sounded like the most beautiful music. He felt that Spring had finally come. He looked out and saw a wonderful sight.
Children Returned to the Garden :The children had entered the garden through a small hole in the wall. Every tree had a child sitting on it, and the trees were happy. They covered themselves with flowers. Birds flew happily, and flowers laughed in the grass. But in one corner, it was still winter. A small boy was crying there because he could not climb the tree.
The Giant’s Heart Changed :The Giant’s heart melted when he saw the little boy. He realised he had been selfish. He decided to break the wall and make the garden free for children. He gently lifted the little boy and placed him on the tree. The tree blossomed, and birds sang. The boy hugged and kissed the Giant.
The Wall Was Broken :When the other children saw that the Giant was not wicked anymore, they returned. Spring came back with them. The Giant broke the wall with a big axe and told the children that the garden was theirs forever. The garden became the most beautiful place. People going to the market at twelve o’clock saw the Giant playing happily with the children.
The Search for the Little Boy :In the evening, the Giant asked the children about the little boy. But the children said they did not know him and had never seen him before. The Giant became very sad. He missed the little boy every day. Years passed. The Giant became old and weak. He could no longer play, but he loved to watch the children playing.
The Giant Meets the Boy Again :One winter morning, the Giant saw a marvellous sight. In the farthest corner, a tree was full of white blossoms, golden branches, and silver fruits. Under it stood the little boy. The Giant ran out happily. But when he reached near, he saw marks of nails on the boy’s hands and feet. He asked, “Who hath dared to wound thee?”
The boy smiled and said, “These are the wounds of Love.” He invited the Giant to his own garden, which was paradise.
The Giant’s End :That afternoon, when the children came to the garden, they found the Giant lying dead under the tree, covered with white blossoms.
Pointwise Summary of the chapter: The Selfish Giant
1. Children played happily every afternoon in the Giant’s beautiful garden with soft grass, flowers, and twelve peach trees.
2. The Giant returned after seven years from visiting his friend, the Cornish ogre, and got angry seeing the children playing.
3. He built a high wall around the garden and put a notice board saying “Trespassers will be prosecuted.”
4. Spring, Summer, and Autumn stayed away from the garden, and it remained cold and full of Snow, Frost, North Wind, and Hail.
5. One morning, the Giant heard a sweet linnet singing and saw that the children had sneaked back through a small hole.
6. The trees blossomed again where the children played, but in one corner, it was still winter where a small boy cried.
7. The Giant’s heart melted, and he helped the little boy climb the tree, which at once broke into blossoms.
8. The Giant knocked down the wall and allowed the children to play freely in the garden forever.
9. The little boy disappeared, and though the Giant loved all children, he kept missing that special little boy.
10. Years later, the boy returned, and took the old Giant with him to paradise, where the Giant peacefully died.