In Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Fir Tree,” a young fir tree in the forest longs to grow tall and experience more exciting things than its current life offers. It yearns to be cut down and become a ship’s mast, then later desires the splendor of being a decorated Christmas tree in a warm house. After finally achieving its wish of becoming a Christmas tree, its glory is short-lived, leading to its being discarded and realizing too late that it should have appreciated the simple joys of its forest life.
Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875) was born in Odense, Denmark, the son of a poor shoemaker and a washerwoman. As a young teenager, he became quite well known in Odense as a reciter of drama and as a singer. When he was fourteen, he set off for the capital, Copenhagen, determined to become a national success on the stage. He failed miserably, but made some influential friends in the capital who got him into school to remedy his lack of proper education. In 1829 his first book was published. After that, books came out at regular intervals. His stories began to be translated into English as early as 1846. Since then, numerous editions, and more recently Hollywood songs and Disney cartoons, have helped to ensure the continuing popularity of the stories in the English-speaking world.View all by Hans Christian Andersen
