The Selfish Giant Grade 6 · English Reader
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A Classic Short Story

The Selfish Giant

A tale of a walled garden, an endless winter, and a kindness that changes everything

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Tec — The Education Consultancy | Grade 6 English Lesson & Worksheet

Every afternoon, the children of the town love to play in a beautiful garden belonging to a Giant, with soft grass, sweet-singing birds, and twelve peach trees that blossom in spring. But when the Giant returns after seven years spent visiting a friend, he angrily drives the children away, builds a high wall around the garden, and puts up a sign reading "TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED." Heartbroken, the children are left to wander the dusty road outside, longing for the garden they can no longer enter.

Because the Giant has shut the children out, Spring itself refuses to visit his garden. While the rest of the country blooms, his garden remains locked in Winter — the Snow and Frost cover it happily, and the Giant invites the North Wind and the Hail to stay as well, so that his garden becomes colder and stormier than ever. Confused and lonely, the Giant cannot understand why Spring never arrives, not realising that his own selfishness is the cause.

One morning, the Giant wakes to hear a linnet singing outside his window, and a delicious perfume drifts in through the open casement. Believing Spring has finally come, he looks outside and discovers that the children have crept back in through a small hole in the wall — and wherever a child sits in a tree, that tree has burst into blossom. Only in the garden's farthest corner is it still Winter, where a tiny boy stands crying because he is too small to climb up into his tree.

Moved by the sight, the Giant realises how selfish he has been. He gently lifts the small boy into the tree, which immediately blossoms, and the boy hugs and kisses him. Overjoyed, the Giant knocks down the wall with an axe and welcomes all the children back to play in the garden forever. Yet each evening, when the children go home, the little boy the Giant loves best — the one who kissed him — is nowhere to be found, and none of the other children know where he lives.

Years pass, and the Giant grows old and too frail to play, though he watches happily from his armchair as the children enjoy the garden he now shares freely. One winter morning, he is astonished to see a tree in the farthest corner covered in white blossom, with silver branches and golden fruit — and standing beneath it, the little boy he has longed to see again. Rushing out in joy, the Giant discovers wounds like nail-marks on the child's hands and feet, and realises this is no ordinary boy. The child explains that the marks are the wounds of Love, and tells the Giant that because he once let him play in his garden, today the Giant shall come and play in his garden — Paradise. That afternoon, the children find the Giant lying dead beneath the tree, covered all over with white blossoms.

"You let me play once in your garden; today, you shall play in Paradise."

Vocabulary

gruff — rough and unfriendly in manner or voice
trespassers — people who enter a place without permission
linnet — a small brown songbird
casement — a window that opens on hinges
melted (of a heart) — softened; became gentle after feeling harsh
hastened — hurried; moved quickly
awe — a feeling of wonder mixed with respect
bore fruit — produced fruit

Worksheet — The Selfish Giant

Comprehension · Vocabulary · Sequencing — Grade 6

Name:
Class:
Date:
Score:
A. Multiple Choice Questions
1.Where had the Giant been for seven years before returning home?
On a sea voyage
Visiting his friend, the Cornish ogre✓
At the King's palace
Living in the forest
2.What did the Giant do as soon as he found children playing in his garden?
He invited them to stay
He shouted at them and drove them away✓
He gave them peaches
He asked them to play quietly
3.What did the Giant build around his garden?
A hedge
A moat
A high wall with a noticeboard✓
A fence of trees
4.Why did Spring never come to the Giant's garden?
The soil was too poor
It was too far north
Because there were no children in it✓
The Giant asked Winter to stay
5.How did the children finally get back into the garden?
The Giant opened the gate himself
They climbed over the wall
They crept in through a little hole in the wall✓
The North Wind blew the wall down
6.Why was one corner of the garden still covered in snow?
The Giant kept that corner cold on purpose
A little boy standing there was too small to climb into his tree✓
No birds sang there
It was shaded from the sun
7.What did the Giant do after his heart "melted"?
He left the garden forever
He lifted the little boy into the tree and later knocked down the wall✓
He rebuilt the wall higher
He called the North Wind back
8.What was special about the little boy the Giant loved best?
He was the tallest child
He owned the garden
He had wounds of Love on his hands and feet, and returned at the end to take the Giant to Paradise✓
He could talk to birds
B. True or False
  • 1. The Giant's garden had twelve peach trees.
    TrueFalse
  • 2. The Giant welcomed the children warmly when he first came home.
    TrueFalse
  • 3. While the garden stayed wintry, the rest of the country had spring.
    TrueFalse
  • 4. The Giant invited the North Wind, the Hail, and the Frost into his garden.
    TrueFalse
  • 5. The Giant understood immediately why Spring would not come.
    TrueFalse
  • 6. After knocking down the wall, the Giant let the children play in his garden forever.
    TrueFalse
  • 7. The little boy the Giant loved best came back to visit every single day after that.
    TrueFalse
  • 8. At the end of the story, the Giant is found lying dead under a blossoming tree.
    TrueFalse
C. Match the Words with Their Meanings
1. gruff → (d)
2. trespassers → (b)
3. casement → (e)
4. hastened → (a)
5. awe → (c)
a. hurried; moved quickly
b. people who enter a place without permission
c. a feeling of wonder mixed with respect
d. rough and unfriendly in manner or voice
e. a window that opens on hinges
D. Put the Events in Correct Order (1–6)
  • The Giant builds a wall around his garden and drives the children away.
  • Children play happily in the Giant's garden every afternoon after school.
  • The Giant sees the children back in his garden and finds a small boy crying under a tree.
  • Only the Giant's garden remains stuck in an endless Winter.
  • Years later, the Giant sees the little boy again beneath a blossoming tree.
  • The Giant knocks down the wall and lets all the children play in the garden forever.
E. Short Answer Questions
1. Why did the Giant build a wall around his garden?
He wanted the garden only for himself and did not want anyone else playing in it.
2. What effect did the children's absence have on the garden?
Spring never came to the garden — it remained locked in Winter, with Snow, Frost, the North Wind, and Hail as the only visitors.
3. What made the Giant realise how selfish he had been?
Seeing the children back in his garden with the trees in blossom, except for one corner where a small boy stood crying because he was too little to climb his tree.
4. How did the Giant show that he had changed by the end of the story?
He knocked down the wall with an axe and let all the children play in his garden forever, and was kind to them from then on.
5. In your own words, what lesson does this story teach about selfishness and sharing?
Open-ended — accept answers that reflect: selfishness brings loneliness and emptiness, while sharing and kindness bring warmth, happiness, and connection with others. (Teacher's discretion for wording.)
Tec — The Education Consultancy | Grade 6 English Lesson & Worksheet