The Happy Prince
High above a city stands an ornate statue of the Happy Prince, recently deceased. He oversees the town and is pained by the suffering of his people. One night, a Swallow who had not gone to Egypt with his flock for the winter because he was pursuing a beautiful Reed arrives in the city and rests on the Happy Prince’s statue. The Swallow notices the Prince is crying, and the Prince explains that during his lifetime, he had lived in a palace devoid of misery, and therefore had never experienced sorrow. Now, though, he can see the suffering of his people. He then asks the Swallow to distribute the gemstones and gold leaf from his form to various families in need. The Swallow loves the Prince and decides to stay. By the time winter arrives, though, the Happy Prince is stripped of all his beauty while the Swallow dies of the harsh cold. As a result, the Happy Prince’s lead heart breaks. When the Mayor finds the statue in such a decrepit state, he decides to take it down, melt it, and make an ornate statue of himself. The lead heart and the dead swallow are discarded like they are nothing, but when God tells an Angel to bring Him the two most precious things in the city, the Angel brings him the dead bird and the lead heart.
The Selfish Giant
When the Selfish Giant returns from a seven-year visit with the Cornish Ogre, he is furious to find twelve children playing in his beautiful garden. Angered by their presence, he builds a wall and puts up a notice saying “TRESPASSERS WILL BE PROSECUTED.” This causes his property to fall into an undying winter; no trees grow and spring and summer never come. One day, he is awakened by the sound of a bird. He looks out his window and sees that the children have found a way back in, which results in spring returning to the garden. The sight inspires the giant to break down the wall, but as soon as he steps out all but one of the children run away in fright. He helps a small, crying boy climb a tree and invites the other children back in, announcing the garden is now theirs as well. As the years pass by, the children continue to come to play with the Giant, but the small boy he had helped never returns, breaking his heart. One winter morning, the now old and frail Giant sees the boy he once helped standing beneath a magnificent tree. The boy bears a stigmata, meaning he is Jesus Christ, and comes to take the Giant to Paradise. Later, the other children find the Giant’s corpse under tree, covered in white blossoms.
The Nightingale and The Rose
A nightingale overhears a student lamenting. He is upset that his professor’s daughter refused to dance with unless he gave her a red rose. The nightingale, believing his love to be true, visits all the rose-trees but as it is winter, there are none to be found. Eventually, one of the trees admits there is one way to produce a red rose, but it requires the bird to sing her sweetest song all night while pressing her heart into a thorn. Believing the student’s tears to be true, the nightingale makes the ultimate sacrifice by slowly impaling herself, causing her blood to stain the rose. The student takes the rose to the professor’s daughter, only to have her reject him once again; the rose will clash with her dress and another man offered her jewels. Upset, the student throws the rose away, and returns to his study of Philosophy and Metaphysics, refusing to believe in love anymore.
The Devoted Friend
The tale begins with a Water-rat reprimanding a Duck for letting her children misbehave, even though he then admits to not having a family of his own. He does not believe in love but believes that there is “nothing nobler or rarer than a devoted friendship.” When a nearby Linnet asks to elaborate, the Water-Rat replies that he would expect the friend to be devoted to him. Hearing the flawed logic, the Linnet begins telling him the story of Little Hans and the Miller.
Little Hans, a gentle man who makes a living from selling the fruits and flowers he cultivates in his garden, struggles every winter to make ends meet. His “devoted” friend, the wealthy Miller, comes to visit him during the warmer months, always helping himself to the fruits and flowers. He never visits Hans during the winter months, claiming he would not want to disturb him during that tough time of year. The Miller’s son wonders if they should invite Hans up to the house so he can share his food, but the Miller and his Wife think that is absurd. After a particular difficult winter, the Miller visits his friend, only to find out he had been forced to sell his possessions, including his wheelbarrow, in order to survive. The Miller offers his old damaged wheelbarrow, and Hans happily declares he has just the wood to fix it. However, the Miller mentions that the wood is perfect for fixing a hole in the roof of his barn. He then asks for a basket of flowers, adding that it would be unfriendly of Hans to refuse since he is giving him a wheelbarrow. Hans is distressed because he’d planned on selling the flowers, but agrees.
A cycle begins where each day the Miller asks Hans to help him with various chores, and as a result, Hans can no longer tend to his garden. The Miller pressures his friend by always reminding him that he has promised to offer his wheelbarrow, and yet does not care he is keeping his friend from making a living. One stormy night, he arrives to Hans’s home, asking him to fetch a doctor because his son is injured and he does not wish to go out into the cold. Hans accepts and asks to borrow the Miller’s lantern. The latter refuses because it is new, and once again reminds his friend that it would be unfriendly to refuse him because he is offering him a wheelbarrow. Once Hans has fetched the doctor, he gets lost while following him back to the Miller’s house. Not having a lantern causes him to wander off and fall into a pool where he drowns. His funeral is well attended and the Miller is the loudest mourner. The Miller rues the fact that the wheelbarrow was intended for Hans but it is in such a sorry state that he cannot sell it; he concludes that “One always suffers from being generous.”
The Linnet ends his tale, and the Water-rat sympathizes with the Miller. When the Linnet replies that he did not understand the moral of the story, the Water-Rat angrily runs back into his hole.
The Remarkable Rocket
A grand ceremony filled with fireworks is being prepared for the wedding of a prince and princess. As these fireworks talk among themselves, a pretentious Rocket loudly boasts about his superiority. When he is called out, he bursts into tears to show he is empathetic. These tears cause him to be too damp to be lit for the wedding, and he is thrown away, landing in a swamp. Having learned nothing, he reverts to his pompous attitude by treating a frog, dragonfly, and duck with disdain. He is then found by two young boys who mistake him for a piece of kindling, and throw him in their fire. Eventually, the Rocket dries off and is finally able to ignite. Unfortunately, the Rocket explodes in the middle of the day and no one sees it happen.
The Birthday of the Infanta
The young Spanish Infanta is having a birthday filled with marvelous performances and dances and games for her and her young companions. The highlight of the day is the Egyptian gipsies’ dwarf, whom they bring out to dance for her. He is a grotesque, deformed little monster but does not seem aware of what he looks like. As he dances, the Infanta playfully and mockingly tosses him a white rose. He is entranced by her and dreams of being her closest playmate. After the dance, the children retire before supper and the Dwarf waits in the garden for the opportunity to dance for the Infanta again after supper. He becomes restless, though, and sneaks into the palace. He wanders from one sumptuous, silent room to another until he enters one with a hideous creature in it. The creature mocks the Dwarf’s every gesture. Suddenly, the Dwarf realizes he is looking into a mirror and that it is he who is so grotesque. He collapses to the floor, knowing the Infanta was mocking him. He dies of a broken heart as the Infanta and her friends enter and demand he do a dance for them .
The Star-Child
One evening, two Woodcutters find a Star-Child draped in a golden cloak in the wintry woods. One takes it home to raise him. The Star-Child grows handsomer every day and develops a keen sense of pride, cruelty, and scorn for weakness. His heart is hard and one day when he sees an ugly beggar-woman, he throws stones at her. Even after it is revealed that she is his long-lost mother, he still hates her for her ugliness. However, after he orders her away, he realizes he is now ugly, and he vows to find his mother and beg her forgiveness. He wanders for three years looking for her, suffering all the time. He arrives at a city gate and is not allowed in. An evil magician sees him and buys him as a slave. The Magician tells the boy he must go into the wood and find a piece of white gold, yellow gold, and red gold, or the Magician will beat him. The boy ventures into the woods the next day, unsure of what to do. When he rescues a Hare trapped in the woods, though, the Hare takes him to the piece of gold he needs. On the way back into the city, a leper at the gates asks for money. The Star-Child knows he will be beaten if he does not bring the gold, but sees the leper’s need as greater than his own. This pattern is repeated for the other pieces of gold. Finally, as the Star-Child enters the gate empty-handed again, the soldiers bow before him and high officials and priests rush to him and announce he is the ruler who was prophesied. The Star-Child is shocked but says he must find his mother and is not worthy of ruling the kingdom. He espies the beggar-woman sitting next to the leper and rushes to her, apologizing for his terrible behavior. The beggar-woman and leper reveal themselves as the King and Queen, and embrace their son. The Star-Child is crowned and rules for three years until he dies. Following that untimely death, an evil ruler takes over.
The Young King
Once, a young Princess secretly marries a man beneath her station and bears a child, and the child is taken away to be raised by goatherds. The Princess dies and the child grows up unaware of his true identity. However, the old King feels remorse and decides to welcome the young man back and anoint him the successor to the throne.
The young King is entranced by all things beautiful, and cannot stop thinking about his coronation robe, his crown, and his scepter. However, the night before the coronation he has a series of three dreams. In the first, he sees weavers toiling in squalid conditions and learns they are making his robe. In the second, he sees a ship full of slaves, and one slave, who later dies, being dropped in and out of the ocean to dive for pearls for the scepter. In the third dream, he sees hundreds of men digging in a dried-up riverbed. Death asks Avarice for a third of the men and she refuses, so he sends Ague and Plague. All the men die, and the young King learns that they were looking for gems for his crown.
After the young King wakes from these dreams, he clads himself in simple raiment and a crown of wild briar. The high officials and priests are distressed by his appearance but he bids them no mind. He goes to the chapel and kneels before the likeness of God. The nobles burst in to seize him, convinced he is destroying the prestige of the crown, but when he turns and stands before them he is cloaked in dazzling holy light. All fall to their knees before him, and see that he is crowned by God.
The Fisherman and His Soul
A young Fisherman falls in love with a little Mermaid but she says the only way they can be together is for him to give up his soul, as the Sea-folk have none. He agrees, and seeks out a Witch to help him. She tells him to come dance with her under the Full Moon and she will tell him what to do. Excitedly, the Fisherman arrives for the dance and whirls about with the Witch and her kin. A strange pale man joins them and all the witches kiss his hands. The Fisherman is disconcerted and makes the sign of the Cross. This upsets the witches and they leave, but the Fisherman holds fast to his and implores, then threatens, her to tell him how to get rid of his soul. She does not want to, but gives him a little knife made of green viper and tells him to cut his shadow off. The Fisherman does this and his Soul splits from him. The Soul is anguished and does not want to leave, but the Fisherman orders him away and joins the Mermaid. The Soul promises to come back every year and tell the Fisherman of his experiences.
After the first and second years, the Soul returns with fascinating tales of what he did and saw. His powers were almost godlike out in the world and he asks the Fisherman to join him. The Fisherman laughs and says Love is greater than Wisdom or Riches. The third year, though, the Soul tells the Fisherman of a lovely dancing girl. The Fisherman is keen to see beautiful dancing feet again, as his Mermaid has none, so he accompanies the Soul. The Soul rejoins the Fisherman and they journey to the city with the dancer. In the first city, though, the Soul makes the Fisherman steal a silver cup. In the second, he makes him beat a child. In the third, he makes him murder a merchant and take his gold. The stricken Fisherman does not understand and the Soul tells him that he has no heart so he has only learned evil.
The Fisherman proclaims he will do no more evil and binds his hands and stops his lips. He travels back to the Mermaid, the Soul following. No matter how many times he calls out to the little Mermaid, though, she does not heed him. Three years pass. The Soul tries to tempt the Fisherman but to no avail. Finally, he suggests entering the Fisherman’s heart, but even though the Fisherman agrees, the heart has no openings.
One day there is a tremendous mourning in the sea and the little Mermaid’s dead body washes ashore. The Fisherman is distraught and falls upon her breast. He tells her of his bad deeds and says he can now be in peace and will die with her. As he dies, his heart opens and the Soul slips in.
The village Priest, who had earlier deplored the Fisherman’s quest to rid of his soul, finds the bodies and refuses to bless the sea because the Sea-folk are wild and accursed. However, when he sees white flowers from the area of the field where the lovers were buried on the altar, and feels the words of Love stir within him, he realizes his error and blesses the sea and all the creatures of the world.
