The Fir-Tree
"The Fir-Tree" | |||
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Short story by Hans Christian Andersen | |||
Original title | Grantræet | ||
Country | Denmark | ||
Language | Danish | ||
Genre(s) | Literary fairy tale | ||
Publication | |||
Published in | New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Second Collection (Nye Eventyr. Første Bind. Anden Samling) | ||
Publication type | Fairy tale collection | ||
Publisher | C.A. Reitzel | ||
Media type | |||
Publication date | 21 December 1844 | ||
Chronology | |||
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"The Fir-Tree" (Danish: Grantræet) is a literary fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875). The tale is about a fir tree 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", in New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Second Collection, in Copenhagen, Denmark, by C.A. Reitzel. One scholar (Andersen biographer Jackie Wullschlager) indicates that "The Fir-Tree" was the first of Andersen's fairy tales to express a deep pessimism.[1]
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, 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.[2]
It was adapted as the sixteenth episode of The Fairytaler.
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 through seedling, until it is cut down by a boy and his father to be used as a Christmas tree. 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.[3]
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.[4]
Charles M. Schulz, author and artist of the world-renowned Peanuts comic strip, incorporated elements of "The Fir Tree" into his first television movie, A Charlie Brown Christmas (December 9, 1965 on CBS).
See also
References
- ^ Wullschlager, Jackie (15 June 2002). Hans Christian Andersen: The Life of a Storyteller. University of Chicago Press. pp. 256–258, 272, 379. ISBN 0-226-91747-9.
- ^ "The Fir Tree". Internet Movie Database. 1979.
- ^ "Grantræet". Internet Movie Database. 2011.
- ^ "The Fir Tree", Internet Movie Database, 2000, retrieved January 19, 2017
External links
- Works related to The Fir Tree at Wikisource
- Danish Wikisource has original text related to this article: Grantræet
- Media related to The Fir-Tree at Wikimedia Commons
- "The Fir Tree" English translation by Jean Hersholt
- Grantræet Original Danish text
- The Fir-Tree at IMDb
- Grantræet at IMDb
- v
- t
- e
- Fairy Tales Told for Children. First Collection. (1835–1837)
- Fairy Tales Told for Children. New Collection (1838–1841)
- New Fairy Tales. First Volume (1843–1845)
- "The Angel" (1843)
- "Blockhead Hans" (1855)
- "The Elf Mound" (1845)
- "The Emperor's New Clothes" (1837)
- "The Fir-Tree" (1844)
- "The Flying Trunk" (1839)
- "The Galoshes of Fortune" (1838)
- "The Garden of Paradise" (1839)
- "The Goblin and the Grocer" (1852)
- "Golden Treasure" (1865)
- "The Ice-Maiden" (1861)
- "Little Claus and Big Claus" (1835)
- "The Little Match Girl" (1845)
- "The Little Mermaid" (1837)
- "The Most Incredible Thing" (1870)
- "The Nightingale" (1843)
- "Ole Lukoie" (1841)
- "The Princess and the Pea" (1835)
- "The Red Shoes" (1845)
- "The Shadow" (1847)
- "The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep" (1845)
- "The Snow Queen" (1844)
- "The Snowman" (1861)
- "The Steadfast Tin Soldier" (1838)
- "The Story of a Mother" (1847)
- "The Sweethearts; or, The Top and the Ball" (1843)
- "The Swineherd" (1841)
- "The Tallow Candle" (1820s)
- "The Teapot" (1863)
- "Thumbelina" (1835)
- "The Tinderbox" (1835)
- "The Travelling Companion" (1835)
- "The Ugly Duckling" (1843)
- "What the Old Man Does is Always Right" (1861)
- "The Wicked Prince" (1840)
- "The Wild Swans" (1838)
- The Improvisatore (1835)
- O.T (1836)
- The Two Baronesses (1848)
- Little Kirsten (1846)
- When the Spaniards Were Here (1865)
- Barn Jesus i en krybbe lå
- Danmark, mit fædreland
- Hist hvor vejen slår en bugt
- Christine's Picture Book (art book)
Andersen's life and works
- Hans Christian Andersen (1952)
- The Daydreamer (1966)
- The World of Hans Christian Andersen (1968)
- Andersen Monogatari (1971)
- The Fairytaler (2002–2003)
- Hans Christian Andersen: My Life as a Fairytale (2003 miniseries)
- Young Andersen (2005 serial)