The Selfish Giant and Other Tales

By Oscar Wilde The task of the fairy tale, in the words of Chesterton, is not to make children afraid, nor is it to introduce to them the notion of the evil, the ugly, or the false—those ideas are already in the them, for they are already in the world. Instead, the task of the fairy tale is to show that the final word belongs not to evil, ugliness, or falsehood, but to goodness, truth, and beauty, and that justice and mercy alike repay princes and princesses, giants and mermaids, fireworks and flowers, according to their deeds.  And the child smiled on the Giant, and said to him, “You let me play once in your garden, today you shall come with me to my garden, which is Paradise.”  If such is indeed the task of fairy tales, Oscar Wilde achieves it beautifully with these nine stories, including “The Happy Prince,” “The Young King,” and “The Birthday of the Infanta,” as well as the impeccable title-tale. Strongly influenced by the Brothers Grimm, Hans Christian Andersen, and Irish folklo