1 rich Libsyn https://www.libsyn.com 90 600 &quot;The Fir-Tree&quot; (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&amp;nbsp;December 1844 with &quot;The Snow Queen&quot;, in New Fairy Tales. First Volume. Second Collection, in Copenhagen, Denmark, by C.A. Reitzel. One scholar (Andersen biographer Jackie Wullschlager&amp;nbsp;[de]) indicates that &quot;The Fir-Tree&quot; was the first of Andersen's fairy tales to express a deep pessimism.[1] Citation Needed http://citationpod.com <iframe title="Libsyn Player" style="border: none" src="//html5-player.libsyn.com/embed/episode/id/39559390/height/90/theme/custom/thumbnail/yes/direction/forward/render-playlist/no/custom-color/88AA3C/" height="90" width="600" scrolling="no" allowfullscreen webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen oallowfullscreen msallowfullscreen></iframe> https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/content/196974360