The Devoted Friend

By Oscar Wilde

Little Hans spends most of his time gardening and makes a living from sales of his beautiful flowers. Little Hans always treats his neighbours well and even allows neighbouring rich Miller to pick flowers from his garden. But the Miller rarely invites Hans into his house or responds in kind. The Miller instead develops has his own philosophy of friendship: ‘Lots of people act well but very few people talk well, which shows that talking is much the more difficult thing of the two, and much the finer thing also'.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Interactive Media
• Release date: Dec 15, 2015
• ISBN: 9781911144731

Oscar Wilde

Oscar Fingal O'Flaherty Wills Wilde was born in Dublin in 1854. He studied at Trinity College Dublin and then at Magdalen College Oxford where he started the cult of 'Aestheticism', which involves making an art of life. Following his marriage to Constance Lloyd in 1884, he published several books of stories ostensibly for children and one novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891). Wilde's first success as a playwright was with Lady Windemere's Fan in 1892. He followed this up with A Woman of No Importance, An Ideal Husband and The Importance of Being Earnest, all performed on the London stage between 1892 and 1895. However Wilde's homosexual relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas was exposed by the young man's father, the Marquis of Queensbury. Wilde brought a libel suit against Queensbury but lost and was sentenced to two year's imprisonment. He was released in 1897 and fled to France where he died a broken man in 1900.

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Oscar Wilde

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Oscar Wilde

The Devoted Friend

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Published by Sovereign Classic

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First published in 2015

Copyright © 2015 Sovereign Classic

Contents

THE DEVOTED FRIEND

THE DEVOTED FRIEND

One morning the old Water-rat put his head out of his hole. He had bright beady eyes and stiff grey whiskers and his tail was like a long bit of black india-rubber. The little ducks were swimming about in the pond, looking just like a lot of yellow canaries, and their mother, who was pure white with real red legs, was trying to teach them how to stand on their heads in the water.

You will never be in the best society unless you can stand on your heads, she kept saying to them; and every now and then she showed them how it was done. But the little ducks paid no attention to her. They were so young that they did not know what an advantage it is to be in society at all.

What disobedient children! cried the old Water-rat; they really deserve to be drowned.

Nothing of the kind, answered the Duck, "every one must