THE STAR-CHILD

By Oscar Wilde

Part One: The Baby

One winter night in a big forest of pine trees, two woodcutters were walking
home. It was very, very cold and there was snow on the ground. The trees were
cold, the birds were cold and the animals were cold. The rabbits stayed in their
rabbit holes and the squirrels stayed in the trees. But the two woodcutters
continued their journey. They prayed to Saint Martin the protector of travellers
and finally they saw the lights of their little village in the distance. They were very
happy and laughed. The Earth now seemed like a flower of silver and the moon
seemed like a flower of gold. But soon they became sad again.
"Why were we so happy?" asked one woodcutter.
"Life is for rich people, not poor people like us. It is better if we die in the snow
or if a wild animal eats us."
Suddenly, something very strange happened. A very bright and beautiful star fell
from the sky into the snow. "Look," said one of the woodcutters to his friend,
"perhaps we will find a pot of gold. Let's go and see!"
When they arrived they found a thing of gold on the white snow. But it wasn't the
treasure they wanted. It was a golden cloak with golden stars on it. They opened
the cloak and inside they saw a little baby, sleeping. Round the baby's neck was a
chain of amber.
"This is not good," said one of them. "Let's leave the baby here. We have too many
children and not enough money to buy food. I don't want another child."
"But we can't leave this little baby here alone." said the other woodcutter. "He will
surely die. I will take him home with me. We have many children and not enough
food, but my wife will look after him."
And the good woodcutter took the baby in his arms and continued his journey
home. When they arrived at their village the first woodcutter said,
"You have the child so you must give me the cloak of gold."
But his friend answered,
"No, this cloak is not yours or mine. It is the baby's cloak. It must stay with him."
The woodcutter's wife was very happy to see her husband. She put her arms
round him and kissed him.
"I found something in the forest and I brought it home for you," he said.
"Good, what is it? We are very poor and we need many things."
But she was very angry when she saw the baby. "We have too many children
already and not enough money to buy food. I don't want another child," she said.
But then she looked at the baby and her heart was full of pity.
"He is a Star-Child," said her husband. "We must love him." So the woman put the
baby in a little bed to sleep. She put the cloak and the chain into a chest.
"Yes, we will love him," she answered.
Part Two: The Mother
The Star-Child lived with the woodcutter and his family but he was very different
from them. Every year the Star-Child became more beautiful: his skin was white
like ivory, his hair was gold like the daffodils, his lips were like the petals of a red
flower and his eyes were blue like the violets near a river. The other people in the
village had black hair and black eyes and they watched the Star-Child in wonder.
The Star-Child was very beautiful but very cruel, arrogant and selfish. He laughed
at the other children in the village and said,
"Your parents are poor but I am noble, I come from a star."
He had no pity for poor people. He laughed at ugly people and ill people. He hurt
animals and he laughed when they suffered. He was very vain and loved his
beauty. In summer he often went to the well in the priest's orchard and looked at
the reflection of his face in the water. Then he was happy.
The woodcutter and his wife treated the boy well but they were very sad. They
often said to him,
"We were good to you. We felt pity for you. Why are you so cruel? Why do you act
in this way?"
The priest was very worried and said to him,
"You must respect all God's creatures! Even the fly is your brother. Why do you
cause pain to others?"
But the Star-Child didn't listen. He continued to hurt animals and laugh at the
problems of other people. The other children followed him because he was
beautiful and could dance and make music. They followed his orders. He was their
leader and they became cruel and hard like him.
One day a poor beggar woman arrived in the village. Her clothes were very old
and torn and she had no shoes on her feet. She was very tired and sat under a
tree to rest. The Star-Child saw her and said to his friends,
"Look at that ugly woman. We don't want her here," and they started to throw
stones at the poor woman. She was terrified but she didn't stop looking at the
Star-Child.
"What are you doing?" shouted the woodcutter when he saw this. "Stop
immediately. Why do you have no pity for this poor woman?"
"I will not listen to you. You are not my father," replied the Star-Child.
"This is true, but when I found you in the forest I had pity for you."
The old woman was listening and when she heard these words she screamed and
fainted. The woodcutter carried her into his house and his wife put meat and
drinks on the table for her. But she did not eat or drink. She asked,
"Did this child come from the forest? Did he have a gold cloak with stars on it?
Did this happen about ten years ago?"
The woodcutter was very surprised. "Yes," he replied.
"And did he have an amber chain round his neck?"
"Yes he did," said the woodcutter. "Come with me and I will show you the cloak
and the chain."
The woman looked at these things and started to cry with joy.
"He is my little son. I am his mother," she said. "I lost him in the forest ten years
ago and I looked all over the world for him. Now I have him again."
The woodcutter was very surprised and called the boy. "Come into the house and
you will find your mother."
The Star-Child was very happy and ran in but when he saw her he said,
"Where is my mother? I can see no-one, only a horrible beggar woman."
"I am your mother," she said.
"You are mad. I am not your son: you are dressed in old clothes, you are a
beggar woman and I am a Star-Child!"
"But I recognized you when I saw you and I recognized your cloak of gold
and your chain of amber. Robbers stole you from me. Come to me, my son.
Your love is very important for me." She opened her arms to him but he was
very angry and closed the doors of his heart to her.
The woman cried. "Kiss me before I go because I travelled all over the world and I
suffered much to find you."
"Never. You are very ugly. I prefer to kiss a toad or a snake."
The woman stood up and went out of the house. She was crying very much. The
Star-Child was very happy when she went. He then went to play with his friends.
Part Three: The Punishment
The Star-Child went to his friends but when they saw him they laughed at him.
"We don't want to play with you now because you're ugly," they said.
"Why do they say these things to me?" he thought. He went to the well to look at
his reflection. He was different now: he had a face like a toad and skin like a
snake. Then the Star-Child understood and started to cry.
"This is my punishment," he said. "I am very cruel and my mother suffered. Now I
must find her and say sorry."
The woodcutter's little daughter said to him,
"It's not important if you're ugly. Please stay. I will not laugh at you."
"No, this is my punishment," he replied. "I treated my mother very badly and now
I must find her."
He ran into the forest calling,
"Mother! Mother! I'm sorry, please come back."
All day he called but nobody answered. When night came he slept on a bed of
leaves, but when the animals saw him they ran away. They knew that he was a
cruel boy. He said to the mole,
"You can go under the ground. Tell me if my mother is there?"
"I don't know if your mother is there. I cannot see because you hurt my eyes,"
replied the mole.
He said to a little bird,
"You can fly over the trees. Tell me if you can see my mother."
"I don't know if your mother is there. I cannot fly because you hurt my wings,"
replied the bird.
He saw a little squirrel and asked,
"Where is my mother?"
"I don't know," replied the squirrel. "You killed my mother. Do you want to kill your
mother too?"
The Star-Child heard all these things and he cried and prayed to God to forgive
him. He travelled to many different villages to find his mother, and the children of
these villages laughed at him and threw stones at him. Nobody had pity for the
Star-Child.
Part Four: Three Pieces of Gold
For three years the Star-Child walked around the world but he didn't find his
mother. One day he arrived at the gates of a city near a river with a big wall
around it. The soldiers there stopped him.
"What are you doing here?" they asked.
"I'm looking for my mother," he said. "Please let me pass. Perhaps she is in this
city."
"Who is your mother and why are you looking for her?" asked another soldier.
"She is a poor beggar like me and I was very cruel to her. Now I want her pardon."
But the soldiers laughed.
"You are very ugly. No mother loves an ugly child. She will not be happy to see you.
Come with us. We will sell you to be a slave."
They sold the Star-Child to an old man for the price of a cup of sweet wine. This
old man was a magician from Libya. The Magician took the boy to a dark prison
and gave him a piece of old bread and some dirty water. The next day he said,
"Now you must go into the forest. In the forest there are three pieces of gold:
one is of white gold, one is of yellow gold and the other is of red gold. You are my
slave and if you do not bring me the piece of white gold I will beat you one
hundred times."
So the Star-Child went to the forest to look for the white gold but he found only
many thorns and dangerous plants. He could not find the white gold anywhere.
When the sun started to disappear, the boy started to cry. He knew that the
Magician wanted to beat him. Suddenly he heard a cry of pain and saw a little
hare in a trap. He forgot his problems. He felt pity for the hare and opened the
trap.
"Thank you, you are very kind," said the hare. "Thanks to you I have my freedom.
What can I give you?"
"I must find a piece of white gold for the Magician. If I don't take it to him he will
beat me."
"I will help you," said the hare. "I know where to find the white gold." He took the
Star-Child to a tree and in the tree he found the gold. The Star-Child was very
happy and thanked the hare. He returned to the city. But at the city gate he saw
an old man. This old man was very ill and very poor.
"Give me some money. If you don't give me some money I will die of hunger!"
shouted the old man. The Star-Child felt pity for the old man but he only had the
piece of white gold for the Magician.
"The old man needs the money more than me," thought the Star-Child and gave
him the gold.
The Magician was very angry when he saw that the Star-Child didn't have the gold
and he beat the boy. He put him in prison with no food and no water. The next day
the Magician said, "Today you must return to the forest and find the piece of
yellow gold. If you do not do this I will beat you three hundred times.
"The boy went into the forest and looked for the gold. He looked all day long but he
could not find it. Finally he sat under a tree and started to cry.
The hare heard him and asked, "Why are you crying?"
"I must find the piece of yellow gold. If I don't find it the Magician will beat me."
"Follow me. I will show you the yellow gold," said the hare and he took the Star-
Child to a pool of water.
At the bottom of this pool he found the piece of yellow gold. The Star-Child
returned to the city but at the city gate he saw the old man again.
"Give me some money. If you don't give me money I will die of hunger!" he
shouted.
The Star-Child felt pity for the old man and gave him the gold.
The Magician was very angry.
"What!? No gold? No gold, no food and no water!"
He beat the Star-Child and put chains on him and put him in prison again.
The next day the Magician said,
"Today you must return to the forest and find the piece of red gold. If you find it,
you will be free. If you do not find it, I will kill you."
The boy went into the forest and all day long he looked for the gold but he could
not find it. In the evening he sat under a tree and started to cry.
The hare heard him and asked, "Why are you crying?"
The Star-Child explained everything and again the hare helped him. This time he
found the gold in a cave near the tree.
"Thank you, thank you," said the boy and he ran back to the city.
At the city gate he saw the old man.
"Give me some money. If you don't give me money, I will die!" he shouted. The
Star-Child felt pity for the old man and gave him the gold.
"You need it more than me," he said, but he was very sad and his heart was very
heavy. "The Magician will kill me," he thought.
But when he passed the guards at the city gates they bowed to him and said,
"Look at our beautiful Lord!" The Star-Child walked through the city and more and
more people followed him.
They all said, "He is the most beautiful boy in the world."
But the Star-Child was very sad, "They are laughing at me," he thought.
He walked for a long time and finally arrived in a big square where there was a
king's palace.
The people said, "You are our Lord, the son of our king!"
"I am not a king's son. I am the son of a poor beggar woman. Why do you say that
I am beautiful? I know I am very ugly."
"Why do you say that you are ugly? Look!" said a soldier. The Star-Child looked
into the soldier's shield. The shield was silver like a mirror. There he saw his face
and saw that his face was beautiful like before.
"There is a prophecy," said the people, "that on this day our king will come. You
are our king. Take this crown and this sceptre. Govern us with justice and with
mercy."
"No, I am a bad boy," he replied. "I must find my mother, I cannot accept the
crown and the sceptre."
He turned towards the city gate. In the crowd he saw his mother, the beggar
woman. Then next to her he saw the old man from the city gate. He ran to the
woman, knelt in front of her and kissed her feet.
"Mother I am so sorry. Please forgive me. Once I gave you my hatred. Please give
me your love now."
But the woman didn't speak.
The Star-Child spoke to the old man. "Please, I helped you three times. Please tell
my mother to speak to me."
But the old man didn't speak.
The Star-Child started to cry. "Please forgive me, Mother. Please forgive me."
The woman put her hand on the boy's head and said,
"Stand up."
The old man put his hand on the boy's head too. When the Star-Child stood up he
saw that the beggar woman was a queen and the old man was a king.
The queen said to him, "This is your father. You helped him three times."
And the king said to him. "This is your mother. You washed her feet with your
tears."
The boy hugged them and kissed them both. They took him to the palace and they
put a crown on his head and a sceptre in his hand.
He was a very good king and showed justice and mercy to everyone. He sent gifts
to the woodcutter and his family. He helped poor people, he was kind to the
animals and birds and there was peace in all the land.