While Wilde is best known as a playwright and celebrated for his wit and aphorisms, his early writings contain the seeds of his biting criticism of late Victorian society. This is especially true in these fairy tales that explore the ideals of friendship, love, kindness, and charity. The stories both celebrate these attributes and show how they are too often twisted or ignored by the very societies that exposes them. These hugely popular short stories have become global favorites since they were first published. Just as marvelous today as they were all those years ago, children and adults alike still read the magical tales with enormous pleasure.