{"id":13833,"date":"2023-04-18T06:02:31","date_gmt":"2023-04-18T06:02:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lib.sjp.ac.lk\/englishforfun\/?page_id=13833"},"modified":"2023-04-26T07:55:49","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T07:55:49","slug":"the-happy-prince-oscar-wilde","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/lib.sjp.ac.lk\/englishforfun\/middle-school-stories-english\/the-happy-prince-oscar-wilde\/","title":{"rendered":"The Happy Prince (Oscar Wilde)"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”The Happy Prince (Oscar Wilde)” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%23673ab7″ use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_single_image image=”9194″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n\n

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High<\/span><\/span>\u00a0above the city, on a tall column, stood the statue of the Happy Prince. He was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold, for eyes he had two bright sapphires, and a large red ruby glowed on his sword-hilt.<\/span><\/p>\n

He was very much admired indeed. \u201cHe is as beautiful as a weathercock,\u201d remarked one of the Town Councillors who wished to gain a reputation for having artistic tastes; \u201conly not quite so useful,\u201d he added, fearing lest people should think him unpractical, which he really was not.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy can\u2019t you be like the Happy Prince?\u201d asked a sensible mother of her little boy who was crying for the moon. \u201cThe Happy Prince never dreams of crying for anything.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am glad there is some one in the world who is quite happy,\u201d muttered a disappointed man as he gazed at the wonderful statue.<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u201cHe looks just like an angel,\u201d said the Charity Children as they came out of the cathedral in their bright scarlet cloaks and their clean white pinafores.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow do you know?\u201d said the Mathematical Master, \u201cyou have never seen one.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAh! but we have, in our dreams,\u201d answered the children; and the Mathematical Master frowned and looked very severe, for he did not approve of children dreaming.<\/span><\/p>\n

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One night there flew over the city a little Swallow. His friends had gone away to Egypt six weeks before, but he had stayed behind, for he was in love with the most beautiful Reed. He had met her early in the spring as he was flying down the river after a big yellow moth, and had been so attracted by her slender waist that he had stopped to talk to her.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShall I love you?\u201d said the Swallow, who liked to come to the point at once, and the Reed made him a low bow. So he flew round and round her, touching the water with his wings, and making silver ripples. This was his courtship, and it lasted all through the summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a ridiculous attachment,\u201d twittered the other Swallows; \u201cshe has no money, and far too many relations\u201d; and indeed the river was quite full of Reeds. Then, when the autumn came they all flew away.<\/span><\/p>\n

After they had gone he felt lonely, and began to tire of his lady-love. \u201cShe has no conversation,\u201d he said, \u201cand I am afraid that she is a coquette, for she is always flirting with the wind.\u201d And certainly, whenever the wind blew, the Reed made the most graceful curtseys. \u201cI admit that she is domestic,\u201d he continued, \u201cbut I love travelling, and my wife, consequently, should love travelling also.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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One night there flew over the city a little Swallow. His friends had gone away to Egypt six weeks before, but he had stayed behind, for he was in love with the most beautiful Reed. He had met her early in the spring as he was flying down the river after a big yellow moth, and had been so attracted by her slender waist that he had stopped to talk to her.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cShall I love you?\u201d said the Swallow, who liked to come to the point at once, and the Reed made him a low bow. So he flew round and round her, touching the water with his wings, and making silver ripples. This was his courtship, and it lasted all through the summer.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is a ridiculous attachment,\u201d twittered the other Swallows; \u201cshe has no money, and far too many relations\u201d; and indeed the river was quite full of Reeds. Then, when the autumn came they all flew away.<\/span><\/p>\n

After they had gone he felt lonely, and began to tire of his lady-love. \u201cShe has no conversation,\u201d he said, \u201cand I am afraid that she is a coquette, for she is always flirting with the wind.\u201d And certainly, whenever the wind blew, the Reed made the most graceful curtseys. \u201cI admit that she is domestic,\u201d he continued, \u201cbut I love travelling, and my wife, consequently, should love travelling also.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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The climate in the north of Europe is really dreadful. The Reed used to like the rain, but that was merely her selfishness.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Then another drop fell.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat is the use of a statue if it cannot keep the rain off?\u201d he said; \u201cI must look for a good chimney-pot,\u201d and he determined to fly away.<\/span><\/p>\n

But before he had opened his wings, a third drop fell, and he looked up, and saw\u2014Ah! what did he see?<\/span><\/p>\n

The eyes of the Happy Prince were filled with tears, and tears were running down his golden cheeks. His face was so beautiful in the moonlight that the little Swallow was filled with pity.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWho are you?\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am the Happy Prince.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy are you weeping then?\u201d asked the Swallow; \u201cyou have quite drenched me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was alive and had a human heart,\u201d answered the statue, \u201cI did not know what tears were, for I lived in the Palace of Sans-Souci, where sorrow is not allowed to enter. In the daytime I played with my companions in the garden, and in the evening I led the dance in the Great Hall. Round the garden ran a very lofty wall, but I never cared to ask what lay beyond it, everything about me was so beautiful. My courtiers called me the Happy Prince, and happy indeed I was, if pleasure be happiness. So I lived, and so I died. And now that I am dead they have set me up here so high that I can see all the ugliness and all the misery of my city, and though my heart is made of lead yet I cannot chose but weep.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat! is he not solid gold?\u201d said the Swallow to himself. He was too polite to make any personal remarks out loud.<\/span><\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_single_image image=”13838″ img_size=”full”][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/2″][vc_column_text]\u201cFar away,\u201d continued the statue in a low musical voice, \u201cfar away in a little street there is a poor house. One of the windows is open, and through it I can see a woman seated at a table. Her face is thin and worn, and she has coarse, red hands, all pricked by the needle, for she is a seamstress. She is embroidering passion-flowers on a satin gown for the loveliest of the Queen\u2019s maids-of-honour to wear at the next Court-ball. In a bed in the corner of the room her little boy is lying ill. He has a fever, and is asking for oranges. His mother has nothing to give him but river water, so he is crying. Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow, will you not bring her the ruby out of my sword-hilt? My feet are fastened to this pedestal and I cannot move.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am waited for in Egypt,\u201d said the Swallow. \u201cMy friends are flying up and down the Nile, and talking to the large lotus-flowers. Soon they will go to sleep in the tomb of the great King.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

The King is there himself in his painted coffin. He is wrapped in yellow linen, and embalmed with spices. Round his neck is a chain of pale green jade, and his hands are like withered leaves.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSwallow, Swallow, little Swallow,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cwill you not stay with me for one night, and be my messenger? The boy is so thirsty, and the mother so sad.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think I like boys,\u201d answered the Swallow. \u201cLast summer, when I was staying on the river, there were two rude boys, the miller\u2019s sons, who were always throwing stones at me. They never hit me, of course; we swallows fly far too well for that, and besides, I come of a family famous for its agility; but still, it was a mark of disrespect.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But the Happy Prince looked so sad that the little Swallow was sorry. \u201cIt is very cold here,\u201d he said; \u201cbut I will stay with you for one night, and be your messenger.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThank you, little Swallow,\u201d said the Prince.<\/span><\/p>\n

So the Swallow picked out the great ruby from the Prince\u2019s sword, and flew away with it in his beak over the roofs of the town.<\/span><\/p>\n

He passed by the cathedral tower, where the white marble angels were sculptured. He passed by the palace and heard the sound of dancing. A beautiful girl came out on the balcony with her lover. \u201cHow wonderful the stars are,\u201d he said to her, \u201cand how wonderful is the power of love!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI hope my dress will be ready in time for the State-ball,\u201d she answered; \u201cI have ordered passion-flowers to be embroidered on it; but the seamstresses are so lazy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

He passed over the river, and saw the lanterns hanging to the masts of the ships. He passed over the Ghetto, and saw the old Jews bargaining with each other, and weighing out money in copper scales. At last he came to the poor house and looked in. The boy was tossing feverishly on his bed, and the mother had fallen asleep, she was so tired. In he hopped, and laid the great ruby on the table beside the woman\u2019s thimble. Then he flew gently round the bed, fanning the boy\u2019s forehead with his wings. \u201cHow cool I feel,\u201d said the boy, \u201cI must be getting better\u201d; and he sank into a delicious slumber.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Then the Swallow flew back to the Happy Prince, and told him what he had done. \u201cIt is curious,\u201d he remarked, \u201cbut I feel quite warm now, although it is so cold.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat is because you have done a good action,\u201d said the Prince. And the little Swallow began to think, and then he fell asleep. Thinking always made him sleepy.<\/span><\/p>\n

When day broke he flew down to the river and had a bath. \u201cWhat a remarkable phenomenon,\u201d said the Professor of Ornithology as he was passing over the bridge. \u201cA swallow in winter!\u201d And he wrote a long letter about it to the local newspaper. Every one quoted it, it was full of so many words that they could not understand.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo-night I go to Egypt,\u201d said the Swallow, and he was in high spirits at the prospect. He visited all the public monuments, and sat a long time on top of the church steeple. Wherever he went the Sparrows chirruped, and said to each other, \u201cWhat a distinguished stranger!\u201d so he enjoyed himself very much.<\/span><\/p>\n

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When the moon rose he flew back to the Happy Prince. \u201cHave you any commissions for Egypt?\u201d he cried; \u201cI am just starting.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSwallow, Swallow, little Swallow,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cwill you not stay with me one night longer?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am waited for in Egypt,\u201d answered the Swallow. \u201cTo-morrow my friends will fly up to the Second Cataract. The river-horse couches there among the bulrushes, and on a great granite throne sits the God Memnon. All night long he watches the stars, and when the morning star shines he utters one cry of joy, and then he is silent. At noon the yellow lions come down to the water\u2019s edge to drink. They have eyes like green beryls, and their roar is louder than the roar of the cataract.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSwallow, Swallow, little Swallow,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cfar away across the city I see a young man in a garret. He is leaning over a desk covered with papers, and in a tumbler by his side there is a bunch of withered violets. His hair is brown and crisp, and his lips are red as a pomegranate, and he has large and dreamy eyes. He is trying to finish a play for the Director of the Theatre, but he is too cold to write any more. There is no fire in the grate, and hunger has made him faint.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI will wait with you one night longer,\u201d said the Swallow, who really had a good heart. \u201cShall I take him another ruby?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAlas! I have no ruby now,\u201d said the Prince; \u201cmy eyes are all that I have left. They are made of rare sapphires, which were brought out of India a thousand years ago. Pluck out one of them and take it to him. He will sell it to the jeweller, and buy food and firewood, and finish his play.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDear Prince,\u201d said the Swallow, \u201cI cannot do that\u201d; and he began to weep.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSwallow, Swallow, little Swallow,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cdo as I command you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

So the Swallow plucked out the Prince\u2019s eye, and flew away to the student\u2019s garret. It was easy enough to get in, as there was a hole in the roof. Through this he darted, and came into the room. The young man had his head buried in his hands, so he did not hear the flutter of the bird\u2019s wings, and when he looked up he found the beautiful sapphire lying on the withered violets.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am beginning to be appreciated,\u201d he cried; \u201cthis is from some great admirer. Now I can finish my play,\u201d and he looked quite happy.<\/span><\/p>\n

The next day the Swallow flew down to the harbour. He sat on the mast of a large vessel and watched the sailors hauling big chests out of the hold with ropes. \u201cHeave a-hoy!\u201d they shouted as each chest came up. \u201cI am going to Egypt\u201d! cried the Swallow, but nobody minded, and when the moon rose he flew back to the Happy Prince.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am come to bid you good-bye,\u201d he cried.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSwallow, Swallow, little Swallow,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cwill you not stay with me one night longer?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is winter,\u201d answered the Swallow, \u201cand the chill snow will soon be here. In Egypt the sun is warm on the green palm-trees, and the crocodiles lie in the mud and look lazily about them. My companions are building a nest in the Temple of Baalbec, and the pink and white doves are watching them, and cooing to each other. Dear Prince, I must leave you, but I will never forget you, and next spring I will bring you back two beautiful jewels in place of those you have given away. The ruby shall be redder than a red rose, and the sapphire shall be as blue as the great sea.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the square below,\u201d said the Happy Prince, \u201cthere stands a little match-girl. She has let her matches fall in the gutter, and they are all spoiled. Her father will beat her if she does not bring home some money, and she is crying. She has no shoes or stockings, and her little head is bare. Pluck out my other eye, and give it to her, and her father will not beat her.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI will stay with you one night longer,\u201d said the Swallow, \u201cbut I cannot pluck out your eye. You would be quite blind then.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSwallow, Swallow, little Swallow,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cdo as I command you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

So he plucked out the Prince\u2019s other eye, and darted down with it. He swooped past the match-girl, and slipped the jewel into the palm of her hand. \u201cWhat a lovely bit of glass,\u201d cried the little girl; and she ran home, laughing.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then the Swallow came back to the Prince. \u201cYou are blind now,\u201d he said, \u201cso I will stay with you always.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo, little Swallow,\u201d said the poor Prince, \u201cyou must go away to Egypt.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI will stay with you always,\u201d said the Swallow, and he slept at the Prince\u2019s feet.<\/span><\/p>\n

All the next day he sat on the Prince\u2019s shoulder, and told him stories of what he had seen in strange lands. He told him of the red ibises, who stand in long rows on the banks of the Nile, and catch gold-fish in their beaks; of the Sphinx, who is as old as the world itself, and lives in the desert, and knows everything; of the merchants, who walk slowly by the side of their camels, and carry amber beads in their hands; of the King of the Mountains of the Moon, who is as black as ebony, and worships a large crystal; of the great green snake that sleeps in a palm-tree, and has twenty priests to feed it with honey-cakes; and of the pygmies who sail over a big lake on large flat leaves, and are always at war with the butterflies.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cDear little Swallow,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cyou tell me of marvellous things, but more marvellous than anything is the suffering of men and of women. There is no Mystery so great as Misery. Fly over my city, little Swallow, and tell me what you see there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

So the Swallow flew over the great city, and saw the rich making merry in their beautiful houses, while the beggars were sitting at the gates. He flew into dark lanes, and saw the white faces of starving children looking out listlessly at the black streets. Under the archway of a bridge two little boys were lying in one another\u2019s arms to try and keep themselves warm. \u201cHow hungry we are!\u201d they said. \u201cYou must not lie here,\u201d shouted the Watchman, and they wandered out into the rain.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then he flew back and told the Prince what he had seen.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am covered with fine gold,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cyou must take it off, leaf by leaf, and give it to my poor; the living always think that gold can make them happy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Leaf after leaf of the fine gold the Swallow picked off, till the Happy Prince looked quite dull and grey. Leaf after leaf of the fine gold he brought to the poor, and the children\u2019s faces grew rosier, and they laughed and played games in the street. \u201cWe have bread now!\u201d they cried.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then the snow came, and after the snow came the frost. The streets looked as if they were made of silver, they were so bright and glistening; long icicles like crystal daggers hung down from the eaves of the houses, everybody went about in furs, and the little boys wore scarlet caps and skated on the ice.<\/span><\/p>\n

The poor little Swallow grew colder and colder, but he would not leave the Prince, he loved him too well. He picked up crumbs outside the baker\u2019s door when the baker was not looking and tried to keep himself warm by flapping his wings.<\/span><\/p>\n

But at last he knew that he was going to die. He had just strength to fly up to the Prince\u2019s shoulder once more. \u201cGood-bye, dear Prince!\u201d he murmured, \u201cwill you let me kiss your hand?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI am glad that you are going to Egypt at last, little Swallow,\u201d said the Prince, \u201cyou have stayed too long here; but you must kiss me on the lips, for I love you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not to Egypt that I am going,\u201d said the Swallow. \u201cI am going to the House of Death. Death is the brother of Sleep, is he not?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

And he kissed the Happy Prince on the lips, and fell down dead at his feet.<\/span><\/p>\n

At that moment a curious crack sounded inside the statue, as if something had broken. The fact is that the leaden heart had snapped right in two. It certainly was a dreadfully hard frost.<\/span><\/p>\n

Early the next morning the Mayor was walking in the square below in company with the Town Councillors. As they passed the column he looked up at the statue: \u201cDear me! how shabby the Happy Prince looks!\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow shabby indeed!\u201d cried the Town Councillors, who always agreed with the Mayor; and they went up to look at it.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe ruby has fallen out of his sword, his eyes are gone, and he is golden no longer,\u201d said the Mayor in fact, \u201che is little better than a beggar!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cLittle better than a beggar,\u201d said the Town Councillors.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd here is actually a dead bird at his feet!\u201d continued the Mayor. \u201cWe must really issue a proclamation that birds are not to be allowed to die here.\u201d And the Town Clerk made a note of the suggestion.<\/span><\/p>\n

So they pulled down the statue of the Happy Prince. \u201cAs he is no longer beautiful he is no longer useful,\u201d said the Art Professor at the University.<\/span><\/p>\n

Then they melted the statue in a furnace, and the Mayor held a meeting of the Corporation to decide what was to be done with the metal. \u201cWe must have another statue, of course,\u201d he said, \u201cand it shall be a statue of myself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOf myself,\u201d said each of the Town Councillors, and they quarrelled. When I last heard of them they were quarrelling still.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a strange thing!\u201d said the overseer of the workmen at the foundry. \u201cThis broken lead heart will not melt in the furnace. We must throw it away.\u201d So they threw it on a dust-heap where the dead Swallow was also lying.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBring me the two most precious things in the city,\u201d said God to one of His Angels; and the Angel brought Him the leaden heart and the dead bird.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou have rightly chosen,\u201d said God, \u201cfor in my garden of Paradise this little bird shall sing for evermore, and in my city of gold the Happy Prince shall praise me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”The Happy Prince (Oscar Wilde)” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%23673ab7″ use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_single_image image=”9194″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text] [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Click Here to Download the MP3[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] High\u00a0above the city, on a tall column, stood the statue of the Happy Prince. He was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold, for eyes he had two bright sapphires, and a large red ruby glowed on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":13771,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-13833","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Happy Prince (Oscar Wilde) - English for Fun<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lib.sjp.ac.lk\/englishforfun\/middle-school-stories-english\/the-happy-prince-oscar-wilde\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Happy Prince (Oscar Wilde) - English for Fun\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[vc_row][vc_column][vc_custom_heading text=”The Happy Prince (Oscar Wilde)” font_container=”tag:h2|text_align:left|color:%23673ab7″ use_theme_fonts=”yes”][vc_single_image image=”9194″ img_size=”full”][vc_column_text] [\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Click Here to Download the MP3[\/vc_column_text][vc_column_text] High\u00a0above the city, on a tall column, stood the statue of the Happy Prince. 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