World classic, retold in simple Mandarin
The Selfish Giant
自私的巨人
The Selfish Giant (自私的巨人, Zìsī de jùrén) is a fairy tale by Oscar Wilde, retold in simple Mandarin as a 3-chapter story with audio for learners at about HSK 1 (Beginner).
Retold from Oscar Wilde's fairy tale: a giant builds a wall to keep children out of his garden, and winter never leaves until a little boy teaches him to share.
Meet the voices
- Narrator · 旁白 — A warm storyteller who sets the scene.
- The Giant · 巨人 — A huge man who learns that a garden is better when it is shared.
- The Little Boy · 小孩 — A tiny boy who is too small to climb his tree.
- The Girl · 姐姐 — A lively older girl who looks after the little boy.
- Snow · 雪 — A cold, playful spirit of winter.
- Frost · 霜 — A proud spirit who paints everything white.
- North Wind · 北风 — A big noisy wind who loves to roar.
- Hail · 冰雹 — A rowdy little spirit who bangs on the roof.
- A Child · 孩子 — A child in the garden, years later.
3 chapters, one journey
Chapter 1: The Wall
高高的墙
A giant comes home and finds children playing in his garden. He chases them out and builds a wall, and then something cold arrives.
Free to read
Chapter 2: The Winter That Would Not End
冬天不走
Snow, Frost, North Wind and Hail move into the giant's garden, and spring stays away. Then one morning the giant hears a bird.
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Chapter 3: The Boy in the Tree
树上的小孩
A giant finds a crying boy who cannot reach his tree. What he does changes his garden for good.
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Key words in The Selfish Giant
Behind the story
The Selfish Giant is a short fairy tale written by the Irish author Oscar Wilde and published in 1888 in his collection The Happy Prince and Other Tales. It was written for children, but adults love its simple, gentle message about sharing.
Chinese readers know it as 自私的巨人. The story appears in Chinese school textbooks and children's story collections, and many families read it aloud. Its lesson, that a garden is happier when everyone can share it, is easy to understand in any language.
Did you know?
- Oscar Wilde first published The Selfish Giant in 1888, in a book of fairy tales he wrote for his two young sons.
- In Chinese the story is called 自私的巨人, and it is often used in schools to talk about kindness and sharing.
- In the story, spring only returns to the garden when the children do.