And the Giant's heart melted as he looked out. 'How selfish I have been!" he said; " . . . I will knock down the wall, and my garden shall be the children's playground for ever and ever."
The five stories in his collection for children show Wilde at his best; moving, witty, and wise. In The Happy Prince, a grand but lonely statue recruits a swallow to help him give to people in need; in The Nightingale and the Rose, a small bird makes a great sacrifice for love; The Selfish Giant is a beautiful story of the triumph of kindness; The Devoted Friend is a morality tale told to a pompous water rat; and The Remarkable Rocket charts the rise and fall of a particularly arrogant firework at a royal wedding.