Introduction
In the story “Happy Prince,” a Prince and a little swallow become friends. It shows how important love and sacrifice are in a person’s life. So, compassion, generosity, and sharing can help get rid of sadness and inequality in the world. The kind Prince and the kind swallow both gave their lives so that poor and needy people could be happy.
Summary
On a tall column (Pillar) high above the city, a beautiful statue was put up. It was the Happy Prince statue. Thin layers of gold were used to cover the statue. Its eyes were made of two bright sapphires. The handle of his sword was given a bright ruby stone. One night, a small swallow that was on its way to Egypt flew into the city. He was tired, so he chose to sleep at the statue’s feet for the night. He was about to go to sleep when a big drop of water hit his head and woke him up. The swallow was surprised by how clear the sky was. He decided to fly away when the second drop fell. But when the third drop fell, he turned to look at the statue. The statue was crying, he saw.
The swallow wanted to know why the statue was crying. The statue of Happy Prince told the swallow that when he was alive, he had never been sad or unhappy. He had a good life. So, he was called the Happy Prince by his courtiers. But now that he is dead, his statue is set up very high, so he can see all the suffering, poverty, and sadness that people go through. The Prince told the swallow that he wanted to help the poor people but couldn’t move. So, he asked the swallow to stay with him and help him. The swallow told the Prince that he would help.
The Prince told the swallow that in the city there was a poor seamstress. She was sewing flowers on a dress for the most beautiful maid of honour to the Queen. Her sick little boy was lying next to her and asked for an orange. The poor woman didn’t have any money, though. The Prince asked the swallow to take the ruby from his sword and give it to the seamstress. The swallow agreed, so it took the ruby and put it next to the poor seamstress. He also used its wings to blow on the sick boy’s head and then left.
The swallow wanted to go to Egypt, but the Prince asked him to stay for another night. The Prince asked the Swallow to help the person who wrote the play. The director of the theatre asked the young playwright to finish his play, but he couldn’t. It was too cold to write, and he was so hungry that he passed out. The Prince told the swallow to pick a sapphire and give it to the playwright. When the playwright got the sapphire, he was happy.
The next day, the swallow came to say goodbye to the Prince, but the Prince asked him again to stay. The Prince told the swallow that there was a little matchstick girl in the square who was crying. All of her matchsticks were broken because they fell down the drain. If she didn’t bring money home, her father would beat her. The Happy Prince told the swallow to take another sapphire from his eye and give it to the poor girl. The swallow didn’t want to do it because it would make the Prince totally blind, but the Prince made him. The swallow gave the little girl the sapphire. The little girl was very happy when she got the sapphire. Now, the Prince lost his sight. So, the swallow chose to stay with the Prince.
The Prince asked the swallow to fly over his city and tell him what it saw. The swallow told the Prince that the poor had a hard time of it. The Prince told the swallow to take the gold off his statue leaf by leaf and give it to the poor. The swallow did what was asked, which made everyone happy.
Now, it was getting very cold outside. The weather was too cold for the swallow. The swallow did not leave the Prince, though. He tried to keep himself warm, but he couldn’t. Soon, he knew he was going to die. He asked the Prince to kiss his hand, but the Prince told him to kiss his lips instead. When the swallow kissed the Prince’s lips, it fell to the ground and died. When the swallow died, the statue’s heart, which was made of lead, broke in two.
The city’s mayor and some city council members went there. The statue was no longer beautiful, so they thought it was ugly and pointless. So, it was taken away and sent to melt. But the broken lead heart couldn’t be melted down, so it was thrown away. God sent an angel to the city to bring him the two most valuable things. The Angel brought the dead swallow and the Happy Prince’s heart made of lead. God spoke well of the angel. He also said that the swallow would sing forever in his garden of paradise and that the Happy Prince would praise him forever in his City of Gold.
