2.The Giant's Garden

A long time ago , a giant lived in a castle. The castle had a big garden. There were lots of beautiful trees and flowers in the garden. Some children live near the castle. They liked the Giant's garden, but the Giant did not like people. 'You can't play here! It's my garden!' he shouted. The Giant was selfish .

One day, the Giant went to visit his brother. ' The Giant's going to be away for a long time ,' said the children. 'Now We can play in his garden.' They were very happy. Every day they went to the beautiful garden and played. They climbed the trees. They swam in the river. They ran on the grass. They chased butterflies. The children liked the garden in all the seasons of the year .

In the spring the flowers and leaves grew.

In the summer the children rolled on the green grass.

In the autumn the leaves were orange and red. The fell from the trees and the children played with them.

In the winter the children played in the snow. They made a snowman.

Different children came to the garden every year.

After seven years, the Giant came back to his castle. He saw children in his garden. He was very angry. 'Get out of here! It's my garden! ' He shouted. 'You can't play here. This garden is MINE! ' 'I'm going to build a brick wall, ' he said. He built a wall round the garden. The children were very sad. 'Where can we play?' they said.

Sometimes they played in the street, but it was hard and rough. 'The giant's garden was better than the street, ' they said.

The Giant sat in his castle. 'It's nice and quite now, ' he thought. 'it's winter, but soon the spring will come. It will be warm and sunny. The flowers will grow. My garden will be beautiful again.'

But the Spring did not want to come. The Spring said 'The Giant's too selfish. I like children. I'm not going to go to a sad, empty garden.'

So the Snow, the Wind and the Rain played in the garden. The sun did not shine. Sometimes it was very windy.

Sometimes it snowed. Sometimes it rained. It was always cold and grey.

'Is the spring never going to come? ' asked the sad,cold Giant.

Then one day he saw a little bird. 'The bird is singing in my garden!' he said. 'Hooray! The trees and flowers are growing!'

He clapped his hands happily. He looked again. 'The children have made a hole in the wall,' The Giant said. 'They've come back to my garden, and the sun has come with them! '

The Giant was not angry. He was delighted .

The Giant ran into the garden. He wanted to hub the children, but the children were afraid. They ran away and it became cold again.

'Don't run away,' said the Giant. 'I'm sorry. I was selfish. Please come and play in my garden. '

Only one little boy did not run away. He wanted to climb a tree, but he was too small.

'Don't cry, little boy. I'll help you, ' said the Giant. He put the little boy on a branch in the tree. The boy smiled.

'Thank you,' the little boy said.

'You're welcome, ' said the Giant.

The boy kissed the Giant's cheek.

Spring came into the garden again.

The children saw this. They came back into the garden through the hole in the wall.

Now the children played in the garden every day. The Giant played with them. All the children liked the Giant! But the Giant did not see the little boy again. 'Where's the little boy?' he asked the children, but they did not know.

After ten years, the Giant was old. He did not play now. He look at his garden and smiled. Many children played in the garden.

Then one day he saw the little boy again. He was under a tree in the garden. The Giant ran out of his castle. He pick up the little boy and kissed him.

The boy said, 'A long time ago you helped me. We are friends. I played in your garden. Now you are going to play in my garden. My garden is Heaven.'

In the evening the children came into the garden. They saw the Giant. He was under the some tree. 'Is he sleep?' asked one girl.

'Wake up! Wake up!' said a boy, But the Giant did not wake up. The Giant was dead. His eyes were closed, but there was a happy smile on his face.

This is the Earth. It is on a tilt. It goes round the Sun once a year. This gives us seasons.

In the summer, your part of the world is nearer to the Sun.

Days are longer. It is warmer. In the winter, your part of the world is further away from the Sun. Days are shorter and nights are longer. It is colder.

The top half of the Earth is the Northern Hemisphere, and bottom half of the Earth is the Southern Hemisphere.

The Equator is the line round the middle of the Earth.

It is always hot at places on the Equator. When it is summer in the Southern Hemisphere, it is winter in the Northern Hemisphere here.

Japan is in the Northern Hemisphere. Spring is from March to May in Japan. In the spring, people wait to see the flowers on the cherry blossom trees. Then they have parties under the trees. This is the Hanami Festival.

The longest day in the Northern Hemisphere is 21 or 22 June each year. This is the middle of summer.

There is a flower festival for four days each June in California, USA. There is a parade and people go to flower fields to look at the flowers.

There is a Chinese festival in the autumn. It is the Mid-autumn Festival. People wait to see a big round moon in the night sky. They eat mooncakes and they light lanterns.

Christmas is on 25 December. It is winter in the Northern Hemisphere. It is usually very cold. Sometimes it snows. But Christmas in Australia is in the summer. It is usually hot and sunny. Some people go to the beach on Christmas day!