The Selfish Giant

The Selfish Giant – General Understanding Quiz

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Approximate Reading Times

Quick Read: under 5 minutes
Short Story: 5 to 30 minutes
Novelette: 30 to 90 minutes
Novella: 1.5 to 2.5 hours

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The Man Who Could Work Miracles (A Pantoum in Prose)
Short Story by H. G. Wells. A man known as a sceptic as far as miracles are concerned suddenly discovers he can make things happen just by thinking about them. He and his parish priest become so obsessed with using the power for good that they bring about global catastrophe.
Zlateh the Goat
Grade 5-6 Story by Isaac Singer. An anthropomorphic goat no longer produces enough milk to justify her keep. Like many unproductive farm animals, she faces a final trip to the town butcher. Fortunately, a freak snowstorm interrupts the journey and gives her a chance to redeem herself.
The Moonlit Road
Short Story by Ambrose Bierce. A rich man who doesn’t trust his loving wife sets a trap that doesn’t go as planned. He accidentally kills her, and the unfortunate woman’s ghost sets off a chain of events that ruins the lives of her husband and their only son.
Up in Michigan / My Old Man
Two Short Stories from Ernest Hemingway. In the first, a naïve young woman's romantic notions are shattered after going for a walk with a man she knows to be drunk and sexually aroused. In the second, a boy’s hero worship of his jockey father is crushed in tragic circumstances.
My Lucy Friend Who Smells Like Corn
Quick Read by Sandra Cisneros. A young Chicano (USA born Mexican-American) girl describes her friendship with and desire to have a life more like another Chicano girl of her own age. She lives with her grandmother and envies her friend’s freedom, independence and large, close family.

Bigfoot Stole My Wife / I Am Bigfoot
Short Stories by Ron Carlson. When a woman disappears, shame and denial over evidence suggesting she has left her husband lead him to claim that the legendary Bigfoot has abducted her. The second story adds credibility to this, as Bigfoot issues a fearful warning to all men of the world.
Barney
Quick Read by Will Stanton. A scientist conducts a bizarre experiment to increase the intelligence of a very special rat. The animal becomes increasingly humanized (it even enjoys flipping through books in the scientist’s library!) until one day, a poorly controlled scientific experiment threatens the world.
The Pig That Went to Market
Grade 3-4 Story by Enid Blyton. A man with no money decides that selling his pet pig is a better idea than getting a job. However, his forgetfulness causes problems in taking the pig to market. When he finally does get it there, he receives a beating for his trouble.
Toads and Diamonds (The Fairies)
French Folktale. A bad-tempered, greedy widow has two daughters. One is selfish, rude and ugly but loved by her mother. The other is kind, polite and beautiful but treated badly. With the help of a fairy (who else?), the kind daughter marries a prince and the selfish daughter dies alone.
Rain Frogs
Short Story by Shiga Naoya. The naïve wife of a rural businessman is either seduced by or coerced into having sex with a predatory novelist. Surprisingly, in addition to appearing remarkably understanding, the woman’s husband is sexually aroused by her experience. The woman’s reaction is equally surprising.