The Selfish Giant自私的巨人

Every afternoon， as they were coming from school， the children used to go and play in the Giants garden.

It was a large lovely garden， with soft green grass. Here and there over the grass stood beautiful flowers like stars， and there were twelve peach trees that in the springtime broke out into delicate blossoms of pink and pearl， and in the autumn bore rich fruit. The birds sat on the trees and sang so sweetly that the children used to stop their games in order to listen to them. “How happy we are here！” they cried to each other.

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 determined to return to his own castle. When he arrived he saw the children playing in the garden.

“What are you doing here？” he cried in a very gruff voice， and the children ran away.

每天下午，孩子們放學回來，總會去巨人的花園里玩耍。

這是一個可愛的大花園，長滿了柔嫩的青草。草叢間盛開著美麗的鮮花，如繁星點點。花園里還有十二棵桃樹，每到春天，粉紅色和珍珠色的花朵姣美誘人;到了秋天，樹上果實累累。鳥兒棲息在枝頭唱著動聽的歌兒，孩子們都禁不住停止游戲，細心聆聽。“我們在這兒多么快樂！”他們歡叫著。

有一天巨人回來了。他去拜訪了康沃爾的怪物朋友，而且和他一起住了七年。七年結束了，巨人說完了想說的話，因為他的話總有個盡頭，他決定回到自己的城堡。當他到家的時候，看見孩子們正在花園里玩耍。

“你們在這兒做什么！”他非常粗暴地喊道，孩子們跑開了。

“My own garden is my own garden，” said the Giant， “anyone can understand that， and I will allow nobody to play in it but myself.” So he built a high wall all round it， and put up a notice-board：

TRESPASSERS

WILL BE

PROSECUTED

He was a very selfish Giant.

The poor children had now 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. They used to wander round the high wall when their lessons were over， and talk about the beautiful garden inside. “How happy we were there！” they said to each other.

“我自己的花園就是我自己的，”巨人說道，“隨便什么人都明白。除我以外，我不允許任何人在花園里玩耍。”于是他在花園的四周砌起了高高的圍墻，還支起一塊告示牌：

越界者

將會

受到重懲

他是一個非常自私的巨人。

可憐的孩子們沒有玩耍的去處了。他們試著在公路上玩，但是公路上塵土飛揚，到處是堅硬的石子，他們并不喜歡那里。功課結束之后，他們常常在高高的圍墻外徘徊，談論著墻內美麗的花園。“我們從前在那里多么快樂呀！”他們說著。

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 blossom. Once a beautiful flower put its 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. “Spring has forgotten this garden，” they cried， “so 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 roared all day about the garden， and blew the chimney-pots down. “This is a delightful spot，” he said， “We must ask the Hail on a visit.” 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.

“I cannot 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; “I 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 to 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.

然后春天到了，整個村莊到處盛開著小花，到處都有小鳥歡唱。只有自私的巨人的花園里依然是冬天。鳥兒們不愿意去那兒歌唱，因為那里沒有孩子們的蹤跡，樹木也忘了開花。一次，一朵美麗的花兒從草間伸出頭來，可是當她看到告示牌的時候，她為孩子們感到難過，又把頭縮回到地里，繼續沉睡。唯一高興的是雪花和霜降。“春天忘記了這座花園，”他們嚷道，“那么我們可以常年住在這里了。”雪花用她厚重的白色外衣覆蓋住草地，霜降給所有的樹木刷上了銀色的外衣。之后他們邀請北風來和他們同住，北風來了。他裹在毛皮里，整日在花園里呼嘯，還吹掉了煙囪管帽。“這是一個讓人愉悅的地方。”他說，“我們一定要叫冰雹來做客。”于是冰雹也來了。每天他都要在城堡的屋頂連續不斷地敲打三個小時，直到大部分瓦片被砸破為止，然后他又以最快的速度繞著花園奔跑。他穿著一身灰衣，氣息如冰一般。

“我不懂為什么春天遲遲不來。”自私的巨人說，他坐在窗邊，看著寒冷的雪白的花園，“我希望天氣會變好一些。”

但是春天始終沒來，夏天也沒有來臨。秋天給每座花園送去了金色的果實，卻沒有給巨人的花園送去什么。“他太自私了。”秋天這樣說。所以，巨人的花園里總是嚴冬，北風、冰雹、霜降和雪花紛紛在樹木間舞蹈。

Vocabulary

used to 過去常常

sweetly adv. 動聽地;甜美地

visit v. 拜訪;參觀

determine v. 決定（determined是過去式形式）

build v. 修建;建造（built是過去式形式）

wander round 徘徊;閑逛

forget v. 忘記;遺忘（forgot是過去式形式）

paint v. 油漆;繪畫（painted是過去式形式）

delightful adj. 令人愉快的

change n. 改變;變化