Oscar Wilde Short Stories

There are three short stories of Oscar Wilde's that clearly have a common theme. In "The Nightingale and the Rose," a student has a crush on a girl. The girl refuses to dance with him unless he gives her a rose, and there are simply no roses anywhere nearby. There is a nightingale who lives outside the window of the boy, and she believes in love above all things. She makes a deal with the rose-tree, and she must press her breast into a thorn, and sing a song. The nightingale will then create a rose, but she will die. The student finds the rose, and the girl doesn't even want it because someone else gave her jewels. The student then throws the rose onto the street exclaiming "What a silly thing Love is! It is not half as useful as logic." In "The Devoted Friend," the character Hans is being manipulated by the Miller. The Miller gets flowers, favors, and labor from Hans, all while telling Hans how lucky he is to have such a friend as the Miller. Ultimately, Hans dies of doing the Mille...