The Happy Prince

Given / Context: The statue of the Happy Prince stands high on a tall column above the city.

Answer:

The courtiers call the prince 'the Happy Prince' because when he was alive he lived in the Palace of Sans-Souci, a place of pleasure and luxury, where sorrow was not allowed to enter. He was always surrounded by beauty, comfort, and gaiety. Since he was always seen smiling and content, the courtiers gave him the name 'the Happy Prince.'

However, he is not really happy. Now that he is dead and stands as a statue high above the city, he can see all the misery, poverty, and suffering of the people around him. His heart, though made of lead, is filled with grief and compassion for the poor.

What he sees around him:
From his great height, the Happy Prince sees:
- The dark lanes and the starving poor people of the city.
- A poor seamstress struggling to finish a dress while her sick child cries for oranges.
- A young playwright shivering with cold and hunger, unable to finish his play.
- A little match-girl who has lost her matches in the gutter and is afraid to go home.
- The general misery, inequality, and suffering that exist in the city beneath him.

Thus, despite his name, the Happy Prince is deeply sad and unhappy at the sight of so much human suffering.

Given / Context: The Happy Prince notices a poor seamstress working by candlelight.

Why the Happy Prince sends a ruby:
The Happy Prince sees a poor seamstress who is embroidering passion-flowers on a satin gown for the Queen's maids-of-honour. She looks tired and worn out. Her little boy is lying ill in a bed in the corner, burning with fever and crying for oranges. The seamstress has no money to buy oranges or medicine for her sick child. Moved by her suffering and the child's pain, the Happy Prince asks the swallow to take the ruby from his sword-hilt and deliver it to her, so that she can sell it and buy food and medicine for her son.

What the swallow does in the seamstress' house:
The swallow flies to the seamstress' house carrying the ruby in its beak. He finds the seamstress fallen asleep from exhaustion. He gently lays the great ruby on the table beside her thimble. Then, feeling sorry for the sick boy, he fans the boy's forehead with his wings to cool his fever. The boy's fever comes down and he falls into a comfortable sleep. The swallow then flies back to the Happy Prince and reports what he has done.

Conclusion: This act shows the compassion of both the Happy Prince and the swallow for the poor and suffering.

Given / Context: The Happy Prince has two sapphires as his eyes.

The prince sends the sapphires for the following people:

(i) First Sapphire — for the young playwright:
The Happy Prince notices a young man in a garret (a small room at the top of a house). The young man is a playwright trying to finish a play for the Director of the Theatre. He is cold and hungry; there is no fire in the grate and he is too weak from hunger to continue writing. The Happy Prince asks the swallow to take one of his sapphire eyes and give it to the young man so that he can sell it, buy firewood and food, and complete his play.

(ii) Second Sapphire — for the little match-girl:
The Happy Prince sees a little match-girl standing below in the square. Her matches have fallen into the gutter and are all spoiled. She is crying because she knows her father will beat her if she goes home without any money. She has no shoes or stockings and her little head is bare. The Happy Prince asks the swallow to give her his other sapphire eye so that she can take it to her father and he will not beat her.

Why they are precious: By giving away both his sapphire eyes, the Happy Prince becomes blind. He sacrifices his own sight out of love and compassion for the suffering people of the city. This makes the sapphires symbols of selfless generosity.

Given / Context: The swallow flies over the city carrying gold leaf from the Happy Prince's statue to distribute among the poor.

What the swallow sees:
As the swallow flies over the great city, it sees the rich and the poor living in stark contrast:

- It sees rich people making merry in their beautiful houses — laughing, feasting, and enjoying themselves.
- In the dark lanes, it sees the faces of starving children looking out listlessly into the black streets.
- Under an archway, it sees two little boys huddled together for warmth, trying to keep each other warm. A watchman tells them to move along, and they wander out into the rain.
- It sees a little match-girl weeping in the square.
- It sees the poor and the hungry everywhere — people suffering from cold, hunger, and misery.

The swallow reports all this to the Happy Prince. The Happy Prince is deeply moved and asks the swallow to strip off the gold leaf from his body, leaf by leaf, and give it to the poor and hungry children so that they may have food.

Conclusion: The swallow's observations highlight the theme of social inequality and the indifference of the rich towards the suffering of the poor.

Given / Context: The swallow had originally planned to fly to Egypt to join his friends but stopped to rest near the statue of the Happy Prince.

Reasons why the swallow did not leave the prince:

1. First errand (ruby): The swallow agreed to stay one night to deliver the ruby to the seamstress. After completing the task, he intended to leave the next morning.

2. Second errand (first sapphire): The Happy Prince looked so sad that the swallow agreed to stay one more night to deliver the first sapphire to the young playwright.

3. Third errand (second sapphire): Again, moved by the prince's sadness and the suffering of the little match-girl, the swallow stayed yet another night to deliver the second sapphire.

4. The prince becomes blind: After giving away both his sapphire eyes, the Happy Prince became blind. The swallow felt deeply sorry for him and said, *"I will stay with you always."* He could not bear to leave a blind and helpless friend.

5. Distributing the gold leaf: The swallow then helped the prince distribute the gold leaf from his body to the poor children of the city.

6. Love and loyalty: Ultimately, the swallow stayed because he had developed a deep bond of love and loyalty with the Happy Prince. He chose friendship and compassion over his own comfort and journey to Egypt.

Conclusion: The swallow gave up his migration to Egypt out of love, loyalty, and compassion — first for the poor people, and then for the Happy Prince himself.

Given / Context: The story 'The Happy Prince' by Oscar Wilde ends with God asking an angel to bring Him the two most precious things in the city.

The precious things mentioned in the story:

At the end of the story, God sends an angel to the city to bring Him the two most precious things. The angel brings:
1. The leaden heart of the Happy Prince
2. The dead swallow

Why they are precious:

(i) The leaden heart of the Happy Prince:
Although the Happy Prince's statue was stripped of all its gold, jewels, and beauty, his leaden heart remained. It was precious because it was a symbol of selfless love, compassion, and sacrifice. The Happy Prince gave away his ruby, his sapphire eyes, and all the gold leaf from his body to help the poor and suffering people of the city. He sacrificed his own beauty and comfort for others. His heart, though made of lead, was full of genuine love for humanity.

(ii) The dead swallow:
The swallow was precious because it gave up its own life out of loyalty and love for the Happy Prince and the poor. It sacrificed its journey to the warm land of Egypt, stayed back in the bitter cold, and worked tirelessly to carry out the prince's wishes. It died of cold beside the prince's feet, having served others till its last breath.

Conclusion: These two things are precious not because of their material value, but because they represent the highest human (and humane) virtues — selfless love, sacrifice, compassion, and loyalty. God Himself declares them the most precious things in the city, showing that true worth lies in goodness of heart, not in wealth or outward beauty.

Context of the quote:
The swallow says this after it has done a good deed — delivering the ruby to the poor seamstress on behalf of the Happy Prince. Despite the cold winter night, the swallow feels warm inside. This warmth is not physical but emotional — it is the warmth that comes from helping others, from doing something kind and selfless.

Personal Experience (Sample Answer for students):

Yes, I have experienced a similar feeling. Once, on a cold winter morning, I saw an old beggar shivering on the roadside. I gave him my spare sweater and the little money I had in my pocket. Even though I was left feeling the cold myself, I felt a deep sense of warmth and happiness inside. My heart felt light and joyful.

This feeling is the joy of giving — when we help someone in need without expecting anything in return, we experience an inner warmth that no external cold can take away.

Moral / Reflection:
This feeling teaches us that true happiness comes from helping others. Acts of kindness and generosity fill our hearts with a warmth that is far more satisfying than any material comfort. As the story shows through both the Happy Prince and the swallow, selfless giving brings a deep sense of peace and fulfilment.

*(Note: Students are encouraged to share their own personal experiences of helping others — a friend in need, donating to the poor, helping a family member, etc. — and describe the warm feeling they experienced afterwards.)*