Der selbstsüchtige Riese

The children love to play in the Giant's garden, where the grass is soft and green and the peach trees flower in spring. But the Giant doesn't like it. "My own garden is my own garden, " he says, and builds a tall wall around it. Without the children, Spring doesn't come to the garden; the birds don't want to sing, and the trees forget to blossom. Snow and Frost, North Wind and Hail, come to stay and dance around the bare trees. But when the children find a hole in the wall and crawl into the garden, the Giant sees how selfish he has been . Helping a little boy climb a tree, he receives a kiss that brings Spring to the garden at last. Now the children play in the garden every day, but the little boy who kissed the Giant doesn't return for many years. In the end, they are reunited in a beautiful ending of kindness rewarded that is rich in symbolism and metaphor.