Ｔｈｅ Ｓｅｌｆｉｓｈ Ｇｉａｎｔ（上篇）

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★摘自英文薈萃網 http://www.ywhc.net/

Every afternoon， as⁽¹⁾ the children were coming back from school， they used to⁽²⁾ go and play in the giant’s garden.

It was a beautiful large garden. Beautiful flowers grew in the grass. There were twelve fruit trees. In the spring the fruit trees were covered with red and white flowers， and later in the year they bore rich fruit⁽³⁾. The birds sang in the trees so sweetly that sometimes the children stopped their games and listened to them. “How happy we are here!” they cried to each other.

One day，the giant⁽⁴⁾ came back. He had been away for seven years. When he arrived， he saw the children playing in his garden. “What are you doing here?” he cried in a very loud voice. The children ran away.

“My own⁽⁵⁾ garden is my own garden，” said the giant. “I will allow⁽⁶⁾ no one to play in it but myself.” So he built a high wall round it and put up a notice⁽⁷⁾: KEEP OUT. He was a very selfish⁽⁸⁾ giant.

So the children had nowhere⁽⁹⁾ to play. They tried to play on the road， but the road was dusty⁽¹⁰⁾ and full of hard stone， and they did not like it.

The spring came， and there were flowers and little birds all over the country. But in the garden of the selfish giant， it was still winter. The birds did not like to sing in it because there were no children， and the trees forgot to bear flowers. Snow covered up⁽¹¹⁾ the grass， and ice covered all the trees. The north wind came， and driving rain⁽¹²⁾.

“I can’t understand why the spring is so late in coming，” said the selfish giant as he sat at the window of his house and looked out at his cold white garden. “I hope that there will be a change⁽¹³⁾in the weather.”

But the spring never came， nor the summer. When there was golden fruit in every other garden， there was no fruit in the giant’s garden. It was always winter there with the north wind， and snow， and ice， and driving rain.

The giant was lying⁽¹⁴⁾ in bed one morning when he heard some beautiful music. It was a little bird singing outside his window. It seemed⁽¹⁵⁾to him the most beautiful music in the world. Then the north wind and the rain stopped.

“I believe that spring has come at last⁽¹⁶⁾!” said the giant. He jumped out of bed and looked out.

What did he see? He saw a mostwonderfulsight⁽¹⁷⁾.The children had come in through a hole⁽¹⁸⁾ in the wall and were sitting in the branches⁽¹⁹⁾ of the trees. There was a little child in every tree. The trees were so glad to have the children back that they had covered themselves with flowers: the birds were flying about and singing with joy， and flowers were looking up through the green grass.

A little boy was standing in the farthest corner⁽²⁰⁾ of the garden. He was so small that he could not reach up to⁽²¹⁾ the branches of the tree. He was weeping. That tree was still covered with ice and snow.

“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⁽²²⁾of the tree. Then I’ll pull down⁽²³⁾ the wall and my garden shall be a children’s playground for ever⁽²⁴⁾.” He was really sorry for what he had done.

(to be continued)

（1） as 當……時（as的用法很多，同學們要注意收集）

（2） used to 后跟動詞原形（used to do sth.） 習慣于做某事

（3） bore rich fruit 結出很多果子，bore是bear的過去式

（4） giant巨人

（5） own 自己的

（6） allow 允許

（7） notice這兒是名詞，意思是“標語”。也可作動詞，意思是“注意到”

（8） selfish 自私的

（9） nowhere 沒有地方，無處

（10） dusty滿是灰塵的

（11） cover up 覆蓋

（12） driving rain 暴風雨

（13） change 變化，可以作動詞也可以作名詞，這兒是名詞

（14） lying 躺著，動詞原形是lie

（15） it seemed 似乎是

（16） at last 終于

（17） sight 景象

（18） hole 洞

（19） branch 樹枝，復數是branches

（20） corner 角落

（21） reach up to 夠著

（22） top 頂端

（23） pull down 推倒

（24） for ever 永遠