The Fir Tree

In "The Fir-Tree" a little tree who is anxious to grow up, fails to appreciate that which happens to him in the moment. After experiencing burning humiliation at being small and insignificant, he is chopped down and decorated for a family's Christmas decorations. Expecting this to be the beginning of a great career, the fir tree is bitterly disappointed when he is discarded after a day and eventually cut into pieces and burned. First published in 1844 alongside "The Snow Queen".