The Selfish Giant · chapter 3 of 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.
Read what you hear
- The Giant 小朋友，别怕。我来帮你。
Xiǎo péngyou, bié pà. Wǒ lái bāng nǐ.
Little friend, don't be afraid. I'll help you.
- The Little Boy 你……不是坏巨人吗？
Nǐ… bú shì huài jùrén ma?
Aren't you... the mean giant?
- The Giant 以前是，我很自私。现在不是了。
Yǐqián shì, wǒ hěn zìsī. Xiànzài bú shì le.
I was. I was very selfish. But not anymore.
Chapter 3 is part of SayMei Stories ($2.99 a month) and SayMei Premium. Chapter 1 of The Selfish Giant is free, and so are The Second Cup of Tea, Mulan, The Butterfly Lovers, Journey to the West: The Monkey King, Cinderella, The Night of the Nian, Chang'e and the Moon, The Great Race: The Twelve Animals, Aesop's Fables, Little Red Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, The Ugly Duckling, Pangu and Nüwa: How the World Began, Beauty and the Beast, The Magic Lotus Lantern, Alice in Wonderland, Zhong Kui the Demon Queller, The Odyssey, Robin Hood, Jiang Ziya Goes Fishing, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, The Hound of the Baskervilles and The Kitchen God from start to finish.
- The Giant 来，我抱你上树。你不要怕。
Lái, wǒ bào nǐ shàng shù. Nǐ bú yào pà.
Come, I'll lift you into the tree. Don't be afraid.
- The Little Boy 哇！树开花了！
Wa! Shù kāi huā le!
Wow! The tree is blooming!
- The Little Boy 你看！鸟也来了！
Nǐ kàn! Niǎo yě lái le!
Look! The birds are here too!
- The Giant 春天回来了！我的花园是孩子们的花园！
Chūntiān huílái le! Wǒ de huāyuán shì háizimen de huāyuán!
Spring is back! My garden is a garden for children!
- The Little Boy 谢谢你，大巨人！你真是个好人！
Xièxie nǐ, dà jùrén! Nǐ zhēn shì gè hǎo rén!
Thank you, big giant! You are such a good person!
- Narrator 小孩笑着，抱着巨人的头。
Xiǎohái xiàozhe, bàozhe jùrén de tóu.
The boy laughed and hugged the giant's head.
- The Giant 孩子们！花园是你们的！
Háizimen! Huāyuán shì nǐmen de!
Children! The garden is yours!
- The Girl 真的吗？墙呢？
Zhēn de ma? Qiáng ne?
Really? What about the wall?
- The Giant 我要把墙打开！
Wǒ yào bǎ qiáng dǎkāi!
I'm going to knock the wall down!
- The Girl 太好了！大家快来花园里玩！
Tài hǎo le! Dàjiā kuài lái huāyuán lǐ wán!
Hooray! Everyone, come and play!
- The Giant 我们一起玩吧！我也要玩球！
Wǒmen yìqǐ wán ba! Wǒ yě yào wán qiú!
Let's play together! I want to play ball too!
- The Girl 你的手太大了，球太小了！
Nǐ de shǒu tài dà le, qiú tài xiǎo le!
Your hands are too big and the ball is too small!
- The Giant 哈哈！那我给你们做一个大球！
Hāhā! Nà wǒ gěi nǐmen zuò yí gè dà qiú!
Ha ha! Then I'll make you a giant ball!
- Narrator 很多年过去了。巨人老了。
Hěn duō nián guòqù le. Jùrén lǎo le.
Many years went by. The giant grew old.
- The Giant 我有很多花，可是孩子们最好看。
Wǒ yǒu hěn duō huā, kěshì háizimen zuì hǎokàn.
I have so many flowers, but the children are the loveliest.
- The Giant 我的花园真美。可是，那个小孩在哪儿？
Wǒ de huāyuán zhēn měi. Kěshì, nàge xiǎohái zài nǎr?
My garden is so beautiful. But where is that little boy?
- The Giant 我最爱他。我再也没有看到他。
Wǒ zuì ài tā. Wǒ zài yě méiyǒu kàndào tā.
I loved him most. I never saw him again.
- The Giant 我老了，走不动了。可是我还爱孩子们。
Wǒ lǎo le, zǒu bú dòng le. Kěshì wǒ hái ài háizimen.
I'm old and can't walk far. But I still love the children.
- The Giant 看！那棵树……满树白花！
Kàn! Nà kē shù… mǎn shù bái huā!
Look! That tree... it's covered in white blossoms!
- The Little Boy 巨人，我在这儿。
Jùrén, wǒ zài zhèr.
Giant, I'm here.
- The Giant 是你！你回来了！
Shì nǐ! Nǐ huílái le!
It's you! You came back!
- The Little Boy 你让我玩你的花园。今天，你来我的花园，好吗？
Nǐ ràng wǒ wán nǐ de huāyuán. Jīntiān, nǐ lái wǒ de huāyuán, hǎo ma?
You let me play in your garden. Today, come to my garden.
- The Giant 你的花园在哪儿？
Nǐ de huāyuán zài nǎr?
Where is your garden?
- The Little Boy 很远，很美。你跟我来。
Hěn yuǎn, hěn měi. Nǐ gēn wǒ lái.
Far away, and so beautiful. Come with me.
- Narrator 第二天，孩子们来了。巨人在树下睡着了，身上都是白花。
Dì èr tiān, háizimen lái le. Jùrén zài shù xià shuìzháo le, shēn shàng dōu shì bái huā.
The next day, the children came. The giant lay asleep under the tree, covered in white blossoms.
- A Child 别叫他。他在花园里睡着了。
Bié jiào tā. Tā zài huāyuán lǐ shuìzháo le.
Don't wake him. He's fallen asleep in his garden.
Hear the chapter
What changed in the story?
- Why does the giant lift the boy into the tree?
“来，我抱你上树。”
- What happens when the boy sits in the tree?
“哇！树开花了！”
- What does the giant do to the wall?
“我要把墙打开！”
- What does the giant look for as he grows old?
“那个小孩在哪儿？”
- What does the boy ask when he comes back?
“今天，你来我的花园，好吗？”