3. The Selfish Giant | |
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THE SELFISH GIANT
OBJECTIVES
NEW WORDSGiant: Demon; Ravana was as tall and big as a giant.
Cornish Ogre: A Giant of Cornwall in the U.K. Ogre: ( In legends and fairy stories) Acruel giant who eats people;in common usage a very frightening person. Gruff: Rough; The surface of the road connecting this village is gruff and harsh. Tresspassers: Those who enter somebody’s land/property without his/her permission.This boy is the trespasser of the premises as he has entered the boundary without permission of the owner. Prosecuted: tried in a court of law(here,Punished).The person who is involved in the crime shall be prosecuted in the court of law. Snow, Frost, North, Wind, Hail: All these have been presented as characters or persons. North wind is the chilly wind, and Hail is the hailstorm. Linnet: A brownish songbird found in Europe. The little linnet sang a song in a melodious voice. Casement: window that opens on hinges like a door. Open the casement to get fresh air and light of outside. Stole up: came quietly without being noticed. Feeble: weak. The boy has not eaten anything for the whole day and has become feeble and weak. Slay : kill. The cruel king in his judgement ordered to slay the prisoner. Key pointsA Giant had a large beautiful garden. He was selfish.
While he was away to visit a friend, children used to play in the garden. When the Giant returned, he was angry to see the children playing there. He built a high wall around the garden so that the children could not come in. As a result, the trees refused to bear flowers and fruits. Spring refused to visit his garden. Only the Frost, the Hail ,the North wind and Snow danced there the whole year. Once the selfish giant helped a little boy to sit on a tree branch, he noticed the miracle. The tree was laden with flowers even in winter. The boy was Christ himself. He bore nail marks on his palms and feet. He kissed the giant whose heart was changed. He let the children play freely in his garden. At last, the little boy took the giant to his own garden, the Paradise as a reward. SummaryA giant had a beautiful garden. It had soft green grass and twelve peach-trees. School children used to visit it to play there in the evening when they came from school. Once, the giant went out to see his friend, Carnish ogre. He stayed at his house for seven years. After this , he returned to his own castle. To his surprise, he found the children playing in the garden.
“My garden is my own garden”, he said to himself.So,he built a high wall around it.Then he put up a notice board declaring that “TRESSPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED”.It was clear that he had become selfish. Now the Children felt very sad. They had no place to play. So, they played outside the garden around the wall.Time went on. In the spring, flowers grew all over, but in the Giant’s garden,there was no spring.There was no summer also.It was always winter there. Neither birds nor flowers could be seen there. Only snow and frost covered the trees. The Giant wondered as to why there was no spring in his garden. Once the Giant lay in his bed awake. He heard a sweet music.A little linnet (A bird) sang outside his window The music appealed to him. The sweet smell of flowers passed through his nostrils.He saw the most wonderful sight. Children had crept in through a hole.Children sat on branches.The trees were covered with flowers.In the farthest corner of the garden a little boy was sitting.He was too small to climb on the branch. He cried bitterly. The giant went up to him and kissed him. He picked him up and placed him on a branch. Now the Giant knocked down the garden wall. He felt sorry for building it. When children saw him, they ran away. The garden became winter like again. He called out the children and said, “It is your garden. Come and play freely.” In the evening, when they came to him to say goodbye, he asked them about the little child. They said they did not know. The Giant loved him the most. Now due to children’s frequent visits the spring returned. Many years passed. The Giant had become old. He could not play anymore. One day suddenly he saw the little child he had loved. He went downstairs and walked near him. However, he felt angry to see his wounded palms and feet. On asking who had wounded him, he replied, “These are the wounds of love.”At this, the Giant fell on his feet, “I’ll let you play in my garden which is paradise” said the little child, “Because you let me play in your garden once.” I n the evening, when the children visited the garden, they saw the Giant lying dead. homework |
Short questionsA. Match the words in column ‘A’ with their meanings in column ‘B’.
Column ‘A’ Column ‘B’ prosecute kill trespasser balls of ice hasten to take legal action hail intruder slay walk quickly B. Write down the opposites of the underlined words. (i) Everyone longs for heaven but no one longs for………. (ii) I found the ring which my mother had……… (iii) Dont walk slowly you must ………to catch the train. (iv) The Giant felt very sad while the children were very……… C. Answer the following questions in one or two sentences each: 1. When did the children play in the Giant’s garden? 2. Why did the Giant build a high wall round his garden? 3. Why was the little boy crying? 4. Why was the Giant angry when he came near the child the final time? D. Answer the following questions in two to four sentences each: 1. Why is the Giant in the story called selfish? 2. Why did Spring not come to the Giant’s garden? 3. The Giant saw ‘a most wonderful sight’. Describe what he saw. 4. Why did the Giant feel sad even when the children came regularly to play in his garden? 5. Who was the little boy? Where did he take the Giant? Why? A. Apply the correct form of the verbs given in brackets: 1. She usually ……….. Hindi.(speak) 2. Mother always………..food in the kitchen.(cook) 3. Bad students never………..hard.(work) 4. We………..to the hills for a month every summer (go) 5. An honest man always ………..the truth.(tell) 6. She often………..us in the evening.(visit) 7. He rarely………..out for a walk on Sundays.(go) 8. There are some birds that ………..every year.(migrate) 9. He sometime………..late to the office.(come) 10. I usually………..up at six o’clock every morning(get) H. Frame questions using the words given in brackets. Example - Toni plays tennis. (How often?) • How often does Toni play tennis? I get up in the morning (What time/usually?) • What time do you usually get up? 1. Anita watches television. (How often?) 2. I write to my parents (How often?) 3. I have dinner in the evening? (What time/usually?) 4. This car breaks down. (How often?) I. Fill in the blanks with the indefinite or continuous form of the present tense of the verbs given in brackets: 1. It rains in July, It is raining now.(rain) 2. He generally………..Hindi but today he………..English.(speak) 3. Do not make a noise; the child………..now(sleep) 4. The baby is ………..because it is hungry now.(cry) 5. He cannot come out to play just now, as he ………..his homework.(do) 6. Look at the old man, he………..after his umbrella.(run) 7. The workman………..the road near our house.(repair) 8. The teacher………..at the blackboard when he………..to explain something.(point, want) 9. I usually ………..up at six and………..my breakfast at eight.(wake, have) 10. Mother………..some food in the kitchen at present.(cook) Present Perfect Tense • To express an action that has been recently completed. e.g. They have won the match. • To describe a past experience. e.g. I have read this novel several times. • To express an action that began in the past e.g. He has worked in this office for ten years. Check Yourself Rearrange the words to make meaningful sentences. 1. Have left they for Indore. _______________________________________________________ 2. She come has. _______________________________________________________ 3. Have they seen in garden a parrot. _______________________________________________________ 4. He passed in has examination. _______________________________________________________ 5. insulted have me you. _______________________________________________________ Answers of Text Book Questions
1. Why is the Giant called selfish?
Answer: The giant did not want to share his happiness with anybody. He wanted to enjoy his garden all alone. That is why the Giant is called selfish. 2. On one occasion the children said: “How happy we are here!” Later they said: “How happy we were there!” What are they referring to in both the cases? Answer: In the first case the children were referring to their joy when they were playing in the Giant’s garden. When the Giant returned after a long gap he shooed away all the children and erected a wall around his garden. Now children had no place to play. So, they were fondly remembering their old happy days. 3. (i) When spring came, it was still winter in the garden. What does winter stand for or indicate here? Answer: The spring is a symbol of happiness. The harsh cold winter is a symbol of suffering. The way there was no flower in the Giant’s garden shows that the happiness was nowhere to be seen in the garden. (ii) Winter has been presented like a story with its own characters and their activities. Describe the story in your own words. Answer: The snow was as cold as an enemy. The frost was a perfect companion of the snow. Both of them added to the overall gloomy atmosphere of the garden. The north wind created the haunting whooshing sound to give the perfect audio effect. It played a haunting music by dancing in the garden and on the rooftops. When all of them invited the hail to join the party, it was too much. It made the situation even worse. 4. Was the Giant happy or sad over the state of the garden? Answer: The Giant was wondering for the no show by the spring. He was feeling sad for the winter in perpetuity. Now he was craving for a pleasant weather. 5. What effect did the linnet’s song have over Hail and the North Wind? Answer: The linnet’s song frightened the hail and the North Wind. They took refuse in one corner of the garden. 6. (i) The Giant saw a most wonderful sight. What did he see? (ii) What did he realize on seeing it? Answer: The Giant saw that through a hole in the wall children had crept in the garden. Because of their arrival flowers blossomed and birds started to sing. It made the spring to come back to the garden. The happiness returned finally to the garden of the Giant. He realized that it was him who kept the spring away from the garden. He wanted to rectify his mistake, by tearing down the wall and allowing children to play in his garden. 7. Why was it still winter in one corner of the Garden? Answer: The isolated corner was to remind the Giant that he also needed to take some steps to keep the gloominess away. The presence of symbols of winter in that corner is to symbolize the past deeds of the Giant which led to overall unhappiness in the garden. 8. Describe the first meeting of the little boy and the Giant. Answer: The little boy was unable to climb a branch of the tree and crying. The Giant lifted him and put on a branch. The little boy was so happy that he kissed the Giant. This gesture touched the Giant’s heart. 9. Describe the second meeting of the little boy and the Giant. Answer: When the little boy appeared after a long gap the Giant ran to meet him and to ask his whereabouts. On seeing injury marks on little boy’s hands the Giant became restless. On the assurance of little boy that they were not injury marks but marks of love the Giant could be pacified. 10. The Giant lay dead all covered with white blossoms. What does this sentence indicate about the once selfish Giant. Answer: Death is like freedom from all the worldly pains. White flowers are signs of purity. The once selfish giant was changed now. Even the Gods accepted his new found virtue so they called him to heaven with all the respect which is due for a kind hearted soul. |