Have shed their blessings far and wide;—

In thee my heart delighteth.”

Hans Christian Andersen, whose happiest hours were those spent in writing pure and sweet fairytales for children, has told the story of the fir-tree in his own gentle way. Here is one more child-song, freely translated from Cassel’s notes:

Within the wood a fir-tree stands,

So stately to be seen;

In summer, spring and winter, too,

Its cloak is ever green.

Its tiny needles, fine and sharp—

Some pointing up, some down—