The Selfish Giant

I've been writing since I was a fat little toddler scribbling nonsense on the wall. I would write little curliques and meandering lines on a page, present them to my mother, and "read" the story I had written to her. Most involved talking animals who killed things before going home to dinner.

I was recently re-organizing my filing cabinit, and came across a huge file full of assorted stories written on loose-leaf lined paper, somewhat crumpled and confused, but easy to sort.

May I now present to you, though I am now much taller, much slimmer, and no longer have candy-stickied hands --- an 11-year-old's masterpiece:

The Selfish Giant
Based on the Fairy Story
All spelling errors, shorthand and cross-outs included for... eh, posterity hilarity.

Once upon a time, there was a giant. This giant lived in a beautiful garden with a stone wall running around it. One morning, as the giant was sitting and stirring his breakfast mush, an idea came to him. "I shall go visit my friend the Cornish Ogre!" and that very day he sent set off a lel to Cor for The Cornish Ogre's house. He was gone for over a year, as for because after he was done visiting with the Orgre, he remembered a troll who lived not long off, & went to see him. And on his way home from the troll's house, he met a very ugly lady giant, which of course would have waylade him much more than 6 months if she had not found met a much younger & uglier giant that lived down the river.
While the giant was gone, his garden continued to floorish and grow. Children now came and played in the flowerbeds and swung in the tree branches. they Singing songs, playing games, & reading books, they filled the garden w/happiness. Unfortunataly, the giant came home in a terrible temper, & when he saw the children frolicking on the lawn, he was furious! He chased the children out the gate, and locked it. he p He patched the hole they climbed through. He And finally, he pounded a sig  huge sign into the ground that read:

"KEEP OUT! Trespassers will be persecuted!"

The children went home to their suppers, & tried to forget about the wonderfull garden they would never be able to see again.

Meanwhile, Winter came & went, & Spring returned to all the land. All, that is, except the giant's garden. You see, Winter Snow & Frost had begun to feel comfortable in the garden. The giant's dour and downcast attitude disposition suited them, and they happily moved in. after Their dear friend, North Wind, also moved in and invited his cousin, Hail, to visit. All of these dispicable neighbors made the giant unhappy, & he began to miss Lady Spring. The garden shared his feelings. I the weeping will the The bushes withered w/out the sun, leaves curled in cold, & weeping willows mourned for their children.

This went on for sev many months, & the giant was depressed & angry @ everything.

Until one day, a young boy ( his name was Peter) found a place inthe garden wall where the stone had shrunk in the cold months. He called some of his friends & they pushed & tugged until they made a hole big enough to squeeze through. They had a wonderfull time, throwing showballs and making little tunnels in the deep snow.

Snow and Frost were not happy about being picked to pieces, thrown around, and melted in little hands. They immediatly deserted the garden in search of a better home.

lady Spring settled in. It just so happened that Lady Spring had and North Wind had quarreled years ago, & as a result they were not on speaking terms. As a result, North Wind & Hail deserted the island.

The Giant was greatly surprised and & pleased with this new development. But when the children came back, they were and happily swung on branches and lay back in the daisies.When the giant discovered a child playing marbles on his porch, he was furious! Rampaging around, he chased all the frightened children out of the garden. He shouted after them that if they ever came back, he would grind their bones to make his bread. The children were very unhappy & went home in such a bad mood that many of them wound up in bed w/out supper.

Lady Spring was most indignant @ her friends being tossed out the gates, & vowed to never come to the garden again unless her children wre let back in & the giant was gone. she immediatly sent a message to Snow, Hail, Frost, & North Wind saying that the garden was now free. They happily moved in, gleefully seizing the branches & freezing the ground. as the giant who was rather slow in the brain, he did not see a pattern in all these occurrances, & so was very surprised when the snow winter returned. He stomped around the garden & knocked down icicles, until the inhabitants became so annoyed w/this selfish giant that they worked together & buried him in a snow drift that fell from a branch & there he died.

 

The children eventually came back to their lovely garden, & Lady Spring banished the various Winter elements. from the garden

And so, the moral of this story is, its common just as well that you share now, because once you're dead they will just use your stuff anyways.

THE END.