The Happy Prince

The Happy Prince is a short story. Oscar Wilde wrote it in 1888. Many people love this fairy tale.

This story is about a tall statue of a prince. It stands high over a busy city. Thin gold covers the whole statue. His eyes are two blue stones, and a big red stone shines on his sword.

One cold night, a little bird comes to the statue. He is a swallow, and he wants to rest. He is going to Egypt, a warm country far away. But he is late. His friends are already gone.

Then a drop of water falls on the bird. There are no clouds in the sky, so it is not rain. He looks up. The Happy Prince is crying!

The Prince wants to ask the little bird something.

The Happy Prince shows the bird a small house far away. A poor woman is in the house. She is making a dress by the light of a candle. Her little son is sick and very hot. He wants some oranges. But she has only water from the river for him.

The Prince says, "Please take the red stone from my sword. Bring it to her." But the Swallow does not want to stay here. He wants to go to Egypt with his friends.

But the Prince's eyes are full of tears. So the Swallow cannot say no to him. He takes the red stone in his mouth and flies over the cold city.

He puts it on the table. The boy goes into a quiet, happy sleep.

On the next night, the Prince needs help again. A young man is writing a play. He is in a cold room at the top of a house. He has no fire and no food. He has no hope.

"Take out one of my blue eyes and give it to him," the Prince says. The Swallow cries. He does not want the Prince to lose his eyes. But he does what the Prince asks.

On the third night, there is a little girl in the street. She sells matches. The Prince asks the bird to give his other eye to her. Now the Prince cannot see anything.

So the Swallow decides to stay with him. He will be the Prince's eyes forever.

Then winter comes. Snow covers the city. The Swallow gets weak, but he does not leave.

The Prince says, "Take the gold off my body. Take it one piece at a time. Give it to the poor children." Soon the statue is gray. It does not shine now.

The Swallow knows he is going to die. He kisses the Prince. Then he falls down dead at the Prince's feet. At that moment, the Prince's heart breaks into two pieces. His heart is made of lead, a kind of metal.

The leader of the city sees the ugly statue. He says, "Melt it down!" But the heart does not melt. People throw it away with the dead bird.

Then God talks to an angel. He says, "Bring me the two most important things in the city."

The Happy Prince is a short story written by Oscar Wilde in 1888. It is considered one of the best-loved fairy tales in English literature.

The story centers on a tall statue of a prince that stands high above a busy city. The statue is covered with thin leaves of pure gold. For eyes, it has two bright blue sapphires, and a large red ruby shines on the handle of its sword.

One cold night, a small bird known as the Swallow flies down to the statue to rest. He is on his way to warm Egypt; however, he is too late, because his friends have already left without him.

Suddenly, a drop of water lands on the Swallow. Since the sky is perfectly clear, it cannot be rain. He looks up, and to his surprise, he sees that the Happy Prince is crying.

It turns out that the Prince has a favor to ask of the little bird.

The Happy Prince points to a small house in the distance. Inside, a poor woman is sewing a dress by candlelight. Her little son is lying in bed with a fever, and he keeps asking for oranges. Unfortunately, all she can give him is water from the river.

The Prince asks the Swallow to take the ruby from his sword and carry it to her. At first, the Swallow refuses to stay any longer, because he wants to fly to Egypt to join his friends.

However, when the Prince's eyes fill with tears, the Swallow cannot say no. He picks up the ruby in his beak and flies across the cold city.

He leaves it on the woman's table, and the sick boy falls into a peaceful sleep.

The following night, the Prince asks for help once again. This time, a young writer is trying to finish a play in a freezing attic. He has no fire to warm himself, nothing to eat, and no hope left.

"Pull out one of my sapphire eyes and take it to him," the Prince says. The Swallow begins to cry, because he does not want to make the Prince blind. Even so, he does as he is told.

On the third night, the Prince asks the Swallow to give his remaining eye to a little match-girl standing in the street. After that, the Prince cannot see anything at all.

The Swallow makes up his mind to stay. From now on, he will be the eyes of the blind Prince forever.

Winter arrives, and the whole city is covered with snow. The Swallow grows weaker and weaker, but he still refuses to leave.

The Prince tells him to peel off the gold leaves covering his body, one by one, and give them to the poor children. Before long, the statue has turned gray and dull.

The Swallow realizes that he is dying. He kisses the Prince on the lips and falls dead at his feet. At that very moment, the Prince's heart, which is made of lead, cracks in two.

When the mayor notices how ugly the statue has become, he orders it to be melted down. Strangely, however, the heart will not melt, so it is thrown away together with the dead bird.

Then God speaks. He asks one of His Angels to bring Him the two most precious things in the city.

The Happy Prince, a short story Oscar Wilde published in 1888, is widely regarded as one of the most cherished fairy tales in the English literary canon.

At its centre stands a lofty statue of a prince, towering over a bustling city. The figure is gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold; its eyes are a pair of luminous sapphires, and a large crimson ruby glows upon the hilt of its sword.

One bitter night, a diminutive bird, the Swallow, alights on the statue in search of respite. He is bound for the warmth of Egypt, yet he has lingered too long, and his companions have long since departed without him.

All at once, a drop of water falls upon the Swallow. The sky is entirely cloudless, so it cannot possibly be rain. Glancing upward, he discovers to his astonishment that the Happy Prince is weeping.

The Prince, it transpires, has an entreaty to make of the little bird.

The Happy Prince directs the Swallow's gaze toward a humble dwelling in the distance. Within, an impoverished seamstress is stitching a gown by the feeble glow of a candle. Her young son lies in the grip of a fever, pleading for oranges, yet she has nothing to offer him but water drawn from the river.

The Prince implores the Swallow to prise the ruby from his sword-hilt and convey it to her. The bird is reluctant to tarry; his heart is set on rejoining his companions in Egypt.

Yet as the Prince's eyes brim with tears, the Swallow finds himself unable to refuse. Clutching the ruby in his beak, he wings his way across the frozen city.

He deposits the jewel on the table, and the feverish child sinks into a tranquil slumber.

On the following night, the Prince once more solicits the Swallow's aid. A young playwright is struggling to complete his drama in a frigid garret, bereft of fire, of sustenance, and of any hope whatsoever.

"Pluck out one of my sapphire eyes and bear it to him," the Prince commands. The Swallow weeps, loath to leave his friend sightless, yet he dutifully complies.

On the third night, the Prince bids the Swallow bestow his remaining eye upon a little match-girl in the street below, and thereafter the statue is plunged into utter darkness.

Moved by this sacrifice, the Swallow resolves to remain, vowing to serve as the eyes of the blind Prince for evermore.

Winter descends, shrouding the city in snow. The Swallow grows steadily frailer, yet he steadfastly refuses to abandon his post.

The Prince instructs him to strip away the gold leaf that sheathes his body, piece by piece, and distribute it among the destitute children. Before long, the once-dazzling statue is reduced to a drab, lustreless grey.

Sensing that his end is near, the Swallow kisses the Prince upon the lips and drops lifeless at his feet. In that instant, the Prince's leaden heart snaps cleanly in two.

Appalled by the statue's shabby appearance, the mayor decrees that it be melted down. The heart, however, stubbornly resists the furnace, and it is discarded on a rubbish heap alongside the dead bird.

It is then that God speaks, commanding one of His Angels to bring Him the two most precious things in the city.