THE FIR TREE
Far away in the
forest, where the sun
was warm and the air
was fresh, grew a
pretty little fir tree.
Everything was
perfect there, and yet
the tree was not
happy. It wanted so much to be like the tall pine and fire trees that grew around it.
The sun shone, the soft air fluttered its leaves and little children passed by, chatting
happily, but the fir tree did not pay them any attention.
Sometimes the children would bring a large basket of raspberries or strawberries and
sit eating them near the fir tree.
“Is it not a pretty little tree?” they would ask, which made it feel even more unhappy
than before.
And yet all this while the tree grew a little taller every year. Still, as it grew, it
complained: “Oh! how I wish I were as tall as the other trees! Then I would spread out my
branches on every side, and my top would look out over the wide world around. The birds
would be building their nests in my branches, and when the wind blew, I would gently bow,
just like my tall companions.”
So unhappy was the tree, that it did not enjoy the warm sunshine, the birds, or the
fluffy clouds that floated over it morning and evening.
Sometimes in winter, when the snow lay white on the ground, there was a little hare
that would come springing along and jump right over the little tree’s head. This would make
the tree very embarrassed, that a mere hare could jump over it.
Two winters passed and when the third arrived, the tree had grown so tall that the hare
could not jump over it any more and had to run round it. Yet it remained unsatisfied and
would cry “Oh! to grow, to grow, if I could just keep on growing tall and old! There is
nothing else worth caring for in the world.”
In the autumn the woodcutters came, as usual, and cut down several of the tallest trees.
The young fir, which had now grown to a good height, shook as the trees he wanted to be like
so much fell to the earth with a crash.
After the branches were chopped off, the trunks looked so narrow and bare that he
could hardly recognise them. Then they were placed, on top of each other, on carts and pulled
by horses out of the forest. Where could they be going? What would become of them? The
young fir tree wished very much to know.
So in the spring, when the swallows and the storks came, it asked: “Do you know
where those trees were taken? Did you meet them?”
The swallows knew nothing, but the stork, after a little reflection, nodded his head and
said: “Yes, I think I do. As I flew from Egypt, I met several new ships, and they had fine
masts that smelt like fir. These must have been the trees. I promise you they looked grand,
they sailed gloriously on the sea!”
“Oh, how I wish I were tall enough to go on the sea,” said the fir tree. “Tell me what is
this sea, and what does it look like?”
“It would take too much time to explain—a great deal too much,” said the stork, flying
quickly away.
“Enjoy being young,” said the sunbeam. “Enjoy your growing years and the young life
that is in you.”
And the wind kissed the tree but the fir tree didn’t pay it any attention.
Christmas time drew near, and many young trees were cut down. These young trees,
which were chosen for their beauty, kept their branches, and they, also, were laid on carts and
drawn by horses far away out of the forest. The fir tree could not stop wanting to leave its
forest home.
“Where are they going?” asked the fir tree. “They are not taller than me. And why do
they keep all their branches? Where are they going?”
“We know, we know,” sang the sparrows; “we have looked in at the windows of the
houses in the town, and we know what is done with them. Oh! you cannot think what honor
and glory they receive. They are dressed up in the most wonderfully. We have seen them
standing in the middle of a warm room, and dressed up with all sorts of beautiful things—
decorations, tinsel, coloured lights and other beautiful objects.
“And then,” asked the fir tree, so excited it began to shake, “and then what happens?”
“We did not see any more,” said the sparrows; “but this was enough for us.”
“I wonder whether anything so great will ever happen to me,” thought the fir tree. “It
would be better even than crossing the sea. It hurts, I want it so much. Oh, when will
Christmas be here? I am now as tall and well grown as the ones taken away last year. Oh I
wish I was lying now on that cart, or standing in the warm room with all that brightness and
beauty around me! Something even better and more beautiful must happen afterwards, or the
trees would not be so decorated. Yes, what follows after being decorated in the room will be
even more exciting. What can it be? I can’t wait to find out.”
“Be happy with us here,” said the air and the sunlight to the tree. “Enjoy your own
bright life in the fresh air.”
But the tree would not be happy, though it grew taller every day. Its dark-green leaves
could be seen in the forest, and people passing by would say, “What a beautiful tree!”
A short time before the next Christmas the unhappy fir tree was the first to fall. As the
ax cut sharply through the trunk and the tree fell to the earth. It suddenly felt sad knowing it
was to leave all its friends, the trees, the bushes, the flowers and the birds. The tree first
recovered itself while being unpacked outside a house, with several other trees. It heard a
man say: “We only want one, and this is the prettiest. This is beautiful!”
Two men carried the fir tree into a large and beautiful room. Pictures hung on the walls
and there were china vases all around. There were rocking-chairs, comfortable couches, and
large tables covered with pictures. There were fancy carpets on the floor, books on the
shelves and very expensive-looking toys.
Then the fir tree was placed in a large tub full of sand—but green cloth hung all round
it so that no one could know it was a tub—and it stood on a very lovely carpet. Oh, how the
fir tree trembled! What was going to happen to him now? Some young ladies came, and the
servants helped them to adorn the tree.
On one branch they hung little bags cut out of colored paper, and each bag was filled
with cakes. From other branches hung golden apples and walnuts, as if they had grown there;
and above and all around were hundreds of red, blue, and white candles, which were tied onto
the branches. Dolls, exactly like real men and women, were placed under the green leaves,—
the tree had never seen such things before,—and at the very top was fastened a glittering star
made of gold tinsel. Oh, it was very beautiful. “This evening,” they all exclaimed, “how
bright it will be!”
“Oh, I wish that the evening were come,” thought the tree, “and the candles lighted!
Then I’ll know what else is going to happen. Will the trees of the forest come to see me? Will
the sparrows peep in at the windows, I wonder, as they fly? Shall I grow faster here than in
the forest, and shall I keep on all these ornaments during summer and winter?” But guessing
was of very little use.
At last the candles were lit, and how beautiful the tree looked! It trembled so with joy
in all its branches that one of the candles fell among the green leaves and burned some of
them. “Help! help!” exclaimed the young ladies, but no harm was done, for they quickly put
out the fire.
After this the tree tried not to shake at all, though the fire frightened him, he was so
anxious not to hurt any of the beautiful ornaments.
And now the folding doors were thrown open, and a troop of children rushed in as if
they intended to knock over the tree, and were followed more slowly by their elders. For a
moment the little ones stood silent with astonishment, and then they shouted for joy and they
danced merrily round the tree while one present after another was taken from it.
“What are they doing? What will
happen next?” thought the tree. At last
the candles burned down to the
branches and were put out. Then the
children received permission to take
whatever they wanted from the tree.
Oh, how they rushed upon it!
There was such a fight to grab things
that the branches cracked, and had it
not been tied with the glistening star to
the ceiling, it would have been
knocked down.
Then the children danced about
with their pretty toys, and no one
noticed the tree except the children’s
maid, who came and peeped among the
branches to see if an apple or a fig had
been forgotten.
“What are they doing? What will
happen next?” thought the tree.
“A story, a story,” cried the
children, pulling a little fat man
towards the tree.
“Now we shall be in the green
shade,” said the man as he seated himself under it, “and the tree will have the pleasure of
hearing, also; but I shall only tell one story. Would you like to hear about Humpty Dumpty,
who fell downstairs, but soon got up again, and at last married a princess?”
“”Yes, Humpty Dumpty,” cried the children loudly. The fir tree remained quiet and
thought to himself: “Should I join in? Should I make a noise, too?”
Then the old man told them the story of Humpty Dumpty—how he fell downstairs, and
was raised up again, and married a princess. And the children clapped their hands and cried,
“Tell another, tell another,” for they wanted to hear another story. After this the fir tree
became quite silent and thoughtful. Never had the birds in the forest told such tales as that of
Humpty Dumpty, who fell downstairs, and yet married a princess.
“Ah, yes! so that’s what happens in the world,” thought the fir tree. He believed it all,
because it was told by such a nice man.
“Ah, well!” he thought, “who knows? Maybe I will fall down, too, and marry a
princess;” and he looked forward to the next evening, expecting to be decorated again. “To-
morrow I will not shake,” he thought. “I will enjoy how splendid I look, and I shall hear the
story of Humpty Dumpty again, and perhaps another story.” And the tree remained quiet and
thoughtful all night.
In the morning the servants and
the housemaid came in. “Now,”
thought the fir tree, ” my decoration is
going to begin again.” But they
dragged him out of the room and
upstairs to the attic and threw him on
the floor in a dark corner and there
they left him. “What does this mean?”
thought the tree. “What am I to do
here? I can hear nothing in a place like
this,” and he leaned against the wall
and thought and thought.
And he had time enough to
think, for days and nights passed and
no one came near him. When at last
somebody did come, it was only to
push away some large boxes in a
corner. So the tree was completely
hidden from sight.
“It is winter now,” thought the
tree; “the ground is hard and covered
with snow, so that people cannot plant
me. I shall be sheltered here, I dare say,
until spring comes. How thoughtful
and kind everybody is to me! Still, I wish this place was not so dark and lonely, with not even
a little hare to look at. How nice it was out in the forest while the snow lay on the ground,
when the hare would run by, yes, and jump over me, too, although I did not like it then. Oh! it
is terribly lonely here.”
“Squeak, squeak,” said a little mouse, creeping cautiously towards the tree; then came
another, and they both sniffed at the fir tree and crept in and out between the branches.
“Oh, it is very cold,” said the little mouse. “If it wasn’t so cold, we’d be very
comfortable here, wouldn’t we, old fir tree?”
“I am not old,” said the fir tree. “There are many who are older than I am.”
“Where do you come from?” asked the mice, who were full of curiosity; “and what do
you know? Have you seen the most beautiful places in the world, and can you tell us all about
them? And have you been in the storeroom, where cheeses lie on the shelf and hams hang
from the ceiling?”
“I know nothing of that,” said the fir tree, “but I know the wood, where the sun shines
and the birds sing.” And then the tree told the little mice all about its youth. They had never
heard such an account in their lives and after they had listened to it attentively, they said:
“What a number of things you have seen! You must have been very happy.”
“Happy!” exclaimed the fir tree; and then, as he reflected on what he had been telling
them, he said, “Ah, yes! after all, those were happy days.” But when he went on and related
all about Christmas Eve, and how he had been dressed up with cakes and lights, the mice
said, “How happy you must have been, you old fir tree.”
“I am not old at all,” replied the tree; “I only came from the forest this winter.”
“What splendid stories you can tell,” said the little mice. And the next night four other
mice came with them to hear what the tree had to tell. The more he talked the more he
remembered, and then he thought to himself: “Yes, those were happy days, but they may
come again. Humpty Dumpty fell downstairs, and yet he married the princess. Perhaps I may
marry a princess, too.” And the fir tree thought of the pretty little birch tree that grew in the
forest; a real princess, a beautiful princess, she was to him.
“Who is Humpty Dumpty?” asked the little mice. And then the tree related the whole
story; he could remember every single word. And the little mice were so delighted with it that
they were ready to jump to the top of the tree. The next night a great many more mice made
their appearance, and on Sunday two rats came with them; but the rats said it was not a pretty
story at all, and the little mice were very sorry, for it made them also think less of it.
“Do you know only that one story?” asked the rats.
“Only that one,” replied the fir tree. “I heard it on the happiest evening in my life, but I
did not know I was so happy at the time.”
“We think it is a very miserable story,” said the rats. “Don’t you know any story about
food in the storeroom?”
“No,” replied the tree.
“Many thanks to you, then,” replied the rats, and they went their ways.
The little mice also kept away after this, and the tree sighed and said: “It was very
pleasant when the merry little mice sat round me and listened while I talked. Now that is all
past, too. However, I shall consider myself happy when some one comes to take me out of
this place.”
But would this ever happen? Yes; one morning people came to clear up the attic. The
boxes were packed away, and the tree was pulled out of the corner and thrown roughly on the
floor; then the servants dragged it out upon the staircase, where the daylight shone.
“Now life is beginning again,” said the tree, enjoying in the sunshine and fresh air.
Then it was carried downstairs and taken into the courtyard so quickly that it forgot to think
of itself and could only look about, there was so much to be seen.
The courtyard was close to a garden, where everything looked blooming. Fresh and
fragrant roses hung over the little palings. The trees were in blossom, while swallows flew
here and there, crying out.
“Now I shall live,” cried the tree joyfully, spreading out its branches; but alas! they
were all withered and yellow, and it lay in a corner among weeds and nettles. The star of gold
paper still stuck in the top of the tree and glittered in the sunshine.
Two of the merry children who had danced round the tree at Christmas and had been so
happy were playing in the same courtyard. The youngest saw the gilded star and ran and
pulled it off the tree. “Look what is sticking to the ugly old fir tree,” said the child, treading
on the branches till they crackled under his boots.
And the tree saw all the fresh, bright flowers in the garden and then looked at itself and
thought of its fresh youth in the forest, of the merry Christmas evening, and of the little mice
who had listened to the story of Humpty Dumpty. It imagined itself back in those places and
for the first time it was able to enjoy those moments.
“What a fine life I had,” said the tree. “Oh, I know I should have enjoyed myself more
while I could have done so! But as I think back, it makes me so happy to think of those
wonderful times. And the tree dreamed and dreamed it was back in the forest on a Spring
morning, with the breeze blowing, the sun shining and the birds singing. At least, the little
tree felt happy.”
Then a lad came and chopped up the tree, till a large bundle lay in a heap on the
ground. The pieces were placed in a fire, and they quickly blazed up brightly. Then the
children who were at play came and seated themselves in front of the fire, looked at it and
warmed themselves. As the fire burned, the tree was thinking of a summer day in the forest
and then of some winter night there when the stars shone brightly, and of Christmas evening,
and of Humpty Dumpty, the only story it had ever heard or knew how to tell. It happily
remembered all these experiences as vividly as though it was living through it all again. And
then, finally, the tree was gone.
The boys still played in the garden, and the youngest wore on his chest the golden star
that was on top of the tree during the happiest evening of its life. Now all was past, the tree’s
life was past and the story also past—for all stories must come to an end at some time or
other.
ANALYSYS
1. Characterization
a. The Little Fir
The Little Fir has a high ambition, he wanted so much to be like the tall pine and
fire trees that grew around him. He is stubborn
b. Swallow
Kind but The swallows knew nothing
c. Stork
The stork is kid and knew a lot of informationa
d. Sparrow
The sparrow likes to affect other.
e. The mice
The mice is very kind, when The tree is lonely and disappointed, but the mice
gather to hear the tree recite the tale of "Klumpe-Dumpe".
f. The Sunbeam, sunlight, air
The Sunbeam, sunlight, and the air is kind, he advice the little fir to stay in the
forest
[“Be happy with us here,” said the air and the sunlight to the tree. “Enjoy your
own bright life in the fresh air.”]
g. The Old Man
h. The youngest boy
He is really mischievous
[The youngest saw the gilded star and ran and pulled it off the tree. “Look what is
sticking to the ugly old fir tree,” said the child, treading on the branches till they
crackled under his boots]
i. The woodcutter
The woodcutter does his job very well,
2. Setting
Setting of place :
In general, this short story set in a forest
Setting of time :
At
Morning and evening
........ the birds, or the fluffy clouds that floated over it morning and
evening.
Night
And the next night four other mice came with them to hear what the
tree had to tell.
during the
summer
autumn
In the autumn the woodcutters came, as usual, and cut down several of
the tallest trees. The young fir, which had now grown to a good height,
shook as the trees he wanted to be like so much fell to the earth with a
crash.
Winter
Sometimes in winter, when the snow lay white on the ground, there
was a little hare that would come springing along and jump right over
the little tree’s head. This would make the tree very embarrassed, that a
mere hare could jump over it.
Spring
So in the spring, when the swallows and the storks came, it asked: “Do
you know where those trees were taken? Did you meet them?”
Christmas
Two of the merry children who had danced round the tree at Christmas
and had been so happy were playing in the same courtyard.
Social setting :
Life in the forest and in this short story there is a little fir who wanted so much
to be like the tall pine and fire trees that grew around him.
3. Moral Value
The moral value available in this story is just be yourself, has an ambitions is
alright, but don’t expect too much. Enjoy your life, enjoy the process. Listen to the
advice of others and consider what you will live and you must be prepared to accept
the consequences