The Daisy

The Daisy (Danish original "Gåseurten," commonly rendered in English as The Daisy) is a short fairy tale by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, first published on October 2, 1838, together with The Steadfast Tin Soldier and The Wild Swans in Fairy Tales Told for Children, New Collection, First Booklet. The story takes place at the edge of a garden before a country house: inside the garden fence grow tulips, peonies, and roses, while on the grass outside grows an unremarkable little daisy. It lacks the splendor and fragrance of the prized flowers, yet because it can bask in the same sun and hear the lark's song, it is full of joy and never envies the blooms in the garden. In the morning, the lark does not fly to the proud tulips but lands on the grass and sings around this little flower, praising its golden heart and silver attire. Soon the gardener's daughter cuts the tulips in the garden with a knife and carries them away, and for the first time the daisy feels lucky to grow in obscurity. The next day, however, the lark's song turns sorrowful: it has been caught and shut in a cage by the window. To give the captive bird grass to perch on, two children dig up a patch of turf with the daisy on it and put it in the cage, but forget to give the bird water. The lark weakens from thirst and longing for freedom; the daisy longs to comfort it but cannot move, and can only give off a stronger fragrance than usual. At last the bird dies, the children give it a grand funeral, and the patch of turf with the daisy is tossed onto the dusty high road. In a very few pages, Andersen writes of humility and contentment, freedom and captivity, and the late-arriving pity people feel only after loss.