"The Fir-Tree" () is a

literary fairy tale A literary fairy tale is a fairy tale that differs from an oral folktale in that it is written by "a single identifiable author", as defined by Jens Tismar's monograph. They also differ from oral folk tales, which can be characterized as "simple ...

by the Danish poet and author

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

(1805–1875). The tale is about a

fir tree Firs are evergreen coniferous trees belonging to the genus ''Abies'' () in the family Pinaceae. There are approximately 48–65 extant species, found on mountains throughout much of North and Central America, Eurasia, and North Africa. The genu ...

so anxious to grow up, so anxious for greater things, that he cannot appreciate living in the moment. The tale was first published 21 December 1844 with "

The Snow Queen "The Snow Queen" () is an 1844 original fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. It was first published 21 December 1844 in ''New Fairy Tales. First Volume#New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Second Collection, New Fairy Tales. First Vo ...

", in '' New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Second Collection'', in

Copenhagen, Denmark Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the Øresund strait. The Øres ...

, by C.A. Reitzel. One scholar (Andersen biographer ) indicates that "The Fir-Tree" was the first of Andersen's fairy tales to express a deep pessimism.

Adaptations

The tale was adapted to a 28-minute video format in 1979 by Huntingwood Films produced by Kevin Sullivan, directed by Martin Hunter and filmed at Black Creek Pioneer Village,

Toronto, Ontario Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada. Jeff Kahnert provided the voice of the Fir-Tree. This was the first film produced by Kevin Sullivan who went on to write, direct and produce the Anne of Green Gables movies. It was adapted as the sixteenth episode of ''

The Fairytaler ''The Fairytaler'' () is a 2002 Danish animated television series based on the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen. It was also the second anthology series adapted from Hans Christian Andersen's works right after Andersen Stories ended. An E ...

''. In 2011, the story was again adapted as a short, Danish-language film directed by Lars Henrik Ostenfeld and presented in a modern setting. The story follows the tree from

cone In geometry, a cone is a three-dimensional figure that tapers smoothly from a flat base (typically a circle) to a point not contained in the base, called the '' apex'' or '' vertex''. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines ...

through

seedling A seedling is a young sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle (embryonic root), the hypocotyl (embry ...

, until it is cut down by a boy and his father to be used as a

Christmas tree A Christmas tree is a decorated tree, usually an evergreen pinophyta, conifer, such as a spruce, pine or fir, associated with the celebration of Christmas. It may also consist of an artificial tree of similar appearance. The custom was deve ...

. Unlike Andersen's tale, which ends with the burning of the tree, the film shows a cone from the tree surviving the fire and being thrown into the forest, perhaps to grow into another fir tree. In 2014, Janani Sreenivasan adapted her script "Pine", originally performed at the University of Iowa's No Shame Theatre in December 2006, into the short film "The Fir Tree", which she co-directed with Lee Jutton. In this version, we hear the tree's first-person account (in Danish) of being chopped down and attending its first Christmas party, which ends badly for all involved. Charles M. Schulz, author and artist of the world-renowned ''

Peanuts ''Peanuts'' (briefly subtitled ''featuring Good ol' Charlie Brown'') is a print syndication, syndicated daily strip, daily and Sunday strip, Sunday American comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip's original run ext ...

'' comic strip, incorporated elements of "The Fir Tree" into his first television movie, ''

A Charlie Brown Christmas ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' is a 1965 animated television special. It is the first TV special based on the comic strip ''Peanuts'', by Charles M. Schulz, and features the voices of Peter Robbins, Christopher Shea, Kathy Steinberg, Tracy Str ...

'' (December 9, 1965 on CBS).

References

External links

* * *
"The Fir Tree"
English translation by

Jean Hersholt Jean Pierre Carl Buron (12 July 1886 – 2 June 1956), known professionally as Jean Hersholt, was a Danish-American actor. He is most famous for starring on the CBS radio series '' Dr. Christian'' from 1937–1954, which later inspired a TV se ...

''Grantræet''
Original Danish text * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fir-Tree, The 1844 short stories Danish fairy tales Short stories by Hans Christian Andersen Christmas short stories Fictional trees Anthropomorphic trees Short stories about talking trees

Adaptations

See also

References

External links