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THE SELFISH GIANT

CHARACTERS:

NARRATOR

CHILDREN:

• BOY 1

• BOY 2

• BOY 3

• GIRL 1

• GIRL 2

• GIRL 3

GIANT

SNOW

FROST

NORTH WIND

AUTUMN

WINTER

HAIL

TREES

LITTLE BOY

TREE

SPRING

SCRIPT:

NARRATOR: Every afternoon, after school, some children used to go and play in the Giant’s garden.

BOY 1: What a lovely garden!.  The grass is so green and soft.

GIRL 1: And the flowers look like stars!.

BOY 2: Stop talking, I want to listen to those birds singing.

GIRL 2: I feel happy here.

BOY 3: Me too.  I wish we didn´t have to go.

GIRL 3: Come on.  It´s getting late and our parents must be worried.  We can come back tomorrow after school.

CHILDREN: Yes, let´s go.

NARRATOR: One day the Giant came back. He had been to visit his friend the Cornish ogre, and had stayed with him for seven years. After the seven years were over he had said all that he had to say, for his conversation was limited, and he decided to return to his own castle. When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden.

GIANT: What are you doing here?.

CHILDREN: Run!. Let´s get out of here, the giant is back.

GIANT: Yes, leave, get away from here!.   This is my garden , any one can understand that, and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself.

NARRATOR: So he built a high wall all round it, and put up a notice-board. TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED.  The poor children had now nowhere to play.

BOY 1: Now, where are we going to play?.

GIRL 1: The road is very dusty and full of hard stones.

BOY 2: I wouldn´t like to play on the road.

GIRL 2: I miss so much that beautiful garden.

CHILDREN: How happy we were there.

NARRATOR: Then the Spring came, and all over the country there were little blossoms and little birds, but 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. The only people who were pleased were the Snow and the Frost.

SNOW AND FROST: Spring has forgotten this garden, so we will live here all the year round.

SNOW: I will cover up the grass with my great white cloak.

FROST: And I will paint all the trees silver.

SNOW: We should invite the North Wind to stay with us.

NARRATOR: And the North Wind came. He was wrapped in furs, and he roared all day about the garden, and blew the chimney-pots down.

NORTH WIND: This is a delightful spot. We must ask the Hail to visit us.

NARRATOR: So the Hail came. Every day for three hours he rattled on the roof of the castle till he broke most of the slates, and then he ran round and round the garden as fast as he could go. He was dressed in grey, and his breath was like ice.

GIANT: I cannot understand why the Spring is so late in coming.  The garden is still white.  I hope there will be a change in the weather.

NARRATOR: But the Spring never came, nor the Summer.

AUTUMN: I will give golden fruit to every garden, but not to the Giant´s garden since he is too selfish.

WINTER, NORTH WIND, HAIL, FROST: We will stay here!.  Spring and Summer you are not welcome here anymore!.

SNOW: I will be the only one to dance through the trees.

NARRATOR: One morning the Giant was lying awake in bed when he heard some lovely music.

GIANT: Where is that sweet music coming from?.  Maybe they are the King’s musicians passing by… it´s the most beautiful music in the world.

NARRATOR: Then the Hail stopped dancing, and the North Wind stopped roaring, and a delicious perfume came to him through the open window.

GIANT: I believe the Spring has come at last.  I better get out of bed and see what is happening outside.

NARRATOR: And 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.

GIANT: Oh, there is a little child in every tree.

TREES: We are so glad you came back again.  Now we will cover ourselves with blossoms.

CHILDREN: We are happy to be here!.

BOY 3: Look everybody, over there!.  The birds are flying and singing with delight, and the flowers are blooming once again.

NARRATOR: But only in one corner it was still winter. It was the farthest corner of the garden, and there was a little boy crying.

LITTLE BOY: I can´t  reach up to the branches of the tree.

TREE: Climb up, little boy!.

LITTLE BOY: I can´t, I am too small to climb.

NARRATOR: And the Giant’s heart melted as he looked out.

GIANT: How selfish I have been!.   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.  I am very sorry for what I have done.

NARRATOR: So he went downstairs and opened the front door quite softly, and went out into the garden.

CHILDREN: Run, the Giant is here!.

WINTER: Now the garden is ours once again.

NARRATOR: Only the little boy did not run.  His eyes were so full of tears that he did not see the Giant coming.

GIANT: Take my hand, I will put you up into the tree.

LITTLE BOY: Thank you.

NARRATOR: The little boy stretched out his two arms and flung them round the Giant’s neck, and kissed him.

GIRL 3: Did you see that?.

BOY 1: The Giant is not angry anymore.

GIRL 2: Let´s go back.

SPRING: And I will go back with you.

GIANT: It is your garden now, little children.  I will knock down the wall, and you can come here everyday.

CHILDREN: Thank you, Mr. Giant, we love you and this beautiful garden.

NARRATOR: And when the people were going to the market they found the Giant playing with the children in the most beautiful garden they had ever seen.  One day the giant asked the children.

GIANT: Where is your little companion?.  The boy I put into the tree.

CHILDREN: We don’t know, he has gone away.

GIANT: You must tell him to be sure and come here tomorrow.

CHILDREN: We don´t know where he lives.

BOY 3: I have never seen him before.

GIRL 3: Me neither.  But don´t feel sad, maybe one day he will return.

NARRATOR: Every afternoon, when school was over, the children came and played with the Giant. But the little boy was never seen again. The Giant was very kind to all the children, but he missed his first little friend.

GIANT: How I would like to see him!.

NARRATOR: Years went over, and the Giant grew very old . 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.

GIANT: I have many beautiful flowers, but the children are the most beautiful flowers of all.

NARRATOR: One winter morning as he was looking out of his window, he saw that 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.

GIANT: I can´t believe it, it´s the little boy!.  He came back!.

NARRATOR: Downstairs ran the Giant in great joy, and out into the garden, and when he came quite close his face grew red with anger.

GIANT: Who dared to harm you?.

NARRATOR: The little boy had in his palms the prints of two nails, and the prints of two nails were on the little feet.

GIANT: Who dared to wound you?.  I will take my sword and make him regret it.

LITTLE BOY: No!.  These are the wounds of Love.

GIANT: Who are you, little boy?.

NARRATOR: And a strange awe fell on him, he knelt before the little child, and the child smiled.

LITTLE BOY: Once you let me play in your garden, today you will come with me to my garden, which is Paradise.

NARRATOR: And when the children ran in that afternoon, they found the Giant lying dead under the tree.  He seemed as he was sleeping, and he was all covered with white blossoms.

THE END

Author:  Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Adapted by: K I D S I N C O

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