"How selfish I have been!" said the giant. "Now I know why the spring would not come here. I'll put the little boy on the top of the tree. Then I'll pull down the wall and my garden shall be a children's playground for ever." He was really sorry for what he had done.

So he went down: he opened the door very quietly, and went out into the garden. But, when the children saw him, they were afraid and ran away. Only the little boy did not run: his eyes were so full of tears that he did not see the giant coming. The giant came quietly behind him. He took the little boy gently in his hand and put him up into the tree. Then the tree was suddenly covered with flowers, and the birds came and sang in it, and the little boy put his arms round the giant's neck and kissed him.

The other children saw that giant was not bad and selfish now, so they came running back.

"It's your garden now, little children," said the giant, and he pulled down the wall.

When the people were going along the road to the town, they found the giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen.

The children played all day, and in the evening they came to the giant to say goodbye to him.

"But where is your little friend?" he said. "Where is the little boy I put in the tree?" The giant loved him best because the little boy had kissed him.

"We don't know," answered the children. "he has gone away."

"You must tell him to come tomorrow, he must come tomorrow." "We don't know where he lives. We had never seen him before." The giant felt very sad.

Every afternoon when school ended, the children came and played with the giant. But the little boy whom the giant loved was never seen again. The giant was very kind to all the children, but he did want to see his first little friend. "How much I would like to see him!" he said.

Years went by, and the giant became very old and weak. He could not play in the garden now; so he sat in a big chair and watched the children at their games and looked at his beautiful garden. "I have many beautiful flowers," he said, "but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all."

One morning, when he was dressing himself, he looked out of the window. He did not hate the winter now, because he knew that the spring was sleeping and the flowers were resting: he knew that they would come again.

Suddenly he rubbed his eyes; he looked again at the wonderful sight! In the farthest corner of the garden there was a tree quite covered with beautiful white flowers. Its branches were golden, and silver fruit hung down from them. And the little boy whom he loved was standing under the tree.

He ran out into the garden: he hurried across the grass and came near the child. When he came quite close, his face became red with anger and he said, "Who has dared to wound you?" There were marks on the child's hands, and on the little feet.
"Who had dared to wound you?" cried the giant. "Tell me and I will take my sword and kill him!"liuxuepaper.com