A giant who lived in a big house had a beautiful garden, but he never let anyone enter his garden. Whenever he was away, children would come there to play.

One day, the giant decided to visit his friend and left for the neighbouring kingdom. The giant came back from his friend’s place after seven years. Seeing the children play in his garden, he angrily chased them away and built a high wall around the garden. On the gate, the giant put a notice-
Keep out!
Trespassers will be prosecuted.

After the children stopped coming to the garden, the trees and flowers were so sad that they lost their beauty and were covered with snow and frost. No birds came to sing there. Spring was everywhere but in the giant’s garden it was still winter.


One morning, the giant saw children playing in the garden. They had entered through a small hole in the wall. And spring arrived in the garden at last to express its happiness on seeing the children again. Each of them climbed a tree. Only one child was standing on the ground crying because he was very small and could not climb a tree.


The giant crept into the garden to help the child. Seeing him, the children were terrified and fled away at once. The garden was filled with frost again as soon as the children left. Only the small boy did not move as he could not see the giant coming. The giant took him on his palm and placed him on the branch of a tree. Soon the tree was full of flowers, and the birds flew to the tree chirping. The fear of the other children vanished by this sight. They came to the garden again and started playing. Spring followed instantly.


The giant realised that he had been selfish and was very sorry for what he had done. He at once broke down the wall around the garden. He let the children play in the garden every day. But the little boy stopped coming to the garden and the giant was very sad.


Many years passed and the giant grew old and weak. One winter morning, the giant saw the same boy under a tree. He ran down to the boy in joy. “Who are you?” whispered the giant falling to his knees. “A long time ago, you let me play in your garden. Now I want you to come and play in mine. It’s called paradise,” replied the boy.


That afternoon when the children ran into the garden to play in the snow, they found the giant leaning dead against a tree all covered with white flowers.