The Devoted Friend

"The Devoted Friend" is a short fairy tale written by Oscar Wilde. The tale concerns Big Hugh, the miller, and his best friend Hans. The story is told by a linnet to a water-rat following a conversation about what it means to be a devoted friend. Like many other stories by Wilde, the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen are considered to be the primary literary influences for "The Devoted Friend". The story begins by a pond where a water-rat has just awoken and a mother duck is teaching her ducklings to stand on their heads. The rat observes how incompetent the young ducklings are at the task and remarks that "they really deserved to be drowned". The mother duck responds that parents must be patient, but the water-rat states he knows nothing of love and finds devoted friendship to be far more valuable. Several other creatures begin asking the water-rat what he means by devoted friendship, to which the water-rat replies: "a devoted friend is one that is devoted to him." This inspires a green linnet to tell the water-rat a tale about a devoted friend.