The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde

Lesson : 5 (Page 28)

The Happy Prince

By - OSCAR WILDE

The Happy Prince

Introduction to the lesson

    This story is about a Prince. When the prince was alive, he was very happy. After his death, a big statue of his was erected on a pedestal. From there, the statue of the Prince could see the entire city and at that time he saw the miseries of the people. He saw the poor people, the homeless, their hunger, and starvation. The Prince was sad to see all these miseries, sadness of the people. So in this chapter we will study the story of this prince.

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Glossary (Words-Note) :

Gilded: to covered with something,  coating of something
Hilt: the handle of a weapon or tool, especially a sword, dagger, or knife
Swallow: a tiny bird

Alighted: descended

Curious: strange

Drenched: soaked with water

Misery: sadness

Coarse: rough
Seamstress: a woman who makes a living by sewing.

Sword hilt: the handle of the sword
Pedestal: raised platform

Mast: sail of the ship

Tossing: turning left and right

Slumber: sleep
Sank: drown but here it means the boy in going to sleep

Prospect: thought of something

Steeple: high tower of the church

Garret: small dark room at the top of the house
Withered: worn out
Violet: kind of flower

Pomegranate: is a fruit

Faint: weak
Grate: fireplace

Darted: pushed himself inside

Appreciate: to praise someone

Harbor: sea port

Swooped: fly very low

Shabby: untidy

Proclamation: order, rule

Furnace: is a fire place where metal are melted

Overseer: supervisor
Foundry: workshop for casting metals

The Happy Prince (Moments) | Complete Lesson and Explanation | SEBA Class 9 | Download as pdf

SOME IMPORTANT QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS

Q1. Where was the statue?

Answer: The statue of the Happy Prince was on a tall pillar at a high place in the city. It was a beautiful statue. It was gilded all over with thin leaves of fine gold. For eyes it had two sapphires.

Q2. Describe the statue of the Happy Prince.

Answer: The statue of the Happy Prince stood on a tall pillar. He was covered with thin leaves of fine gold. It had two bright sapphires for its eyes. There was a large red ruby on the hilt of his sword.

Q3. What made the Happy Prince cry?

Answer: The Happy Prince could see all the misery of the city. He cried on seeing the sorrows of the poor people.

Q4. Where was the swallow going? Why did he stop there?

Answer: The swallow was going to Egypt. His friends had gone to Egypt six weeks before but he had stayed behind. So he was going to join them. He stopped near the statue to take some rest during the night. There was plenty of air. So he stopped there.

Q5. To whom did the prince send his ruby and why?

Answer: The prince sent his ruby to a poor seamstress. Her son was ill. He was asking for oranges. But his mother had no money. So the prince wanted to help her.

Q6. What was the boy’s mother doing when the swallow flew into the room? Where did he put the ruby? Why did the boy feel cool?

Answer: The boy’s mother had fallen asleep. The swallow put the ruby on a table near the woman. He fanned the boy with his wings. The boy now felt cool.

Q7. Why was the statue called the Happy Prince?

Answer: This was the statue of a Prince. When he was alive he lived in a palace. He did not know what tears were. There was no sorrow in his life. He was always happy. He lived and died as a Happy Prince. So his statue was called the Happy Prince.

Q8.  Why did the Happy Prince request the swallow to stay with him for the night?

Answer: The Happy Prince was very kind. He saw that the poor seamstress was very sad. Her son was ill. She had nothing to give him except the river water. The Happy Prince wanted to help her. He wanted to send her a ruby. But he could not move. So he requested the swallow to stay with him for the night.

Q9. How did the swallow give comfort to the son of the seamstress?

Answer: The swallow came to the house of the seamstress. He found that her son was suffering from a fever. He took pity on him. He fanned the boy with his wings. The son felt comfort. He fell asleep.

Q10. How did the prince and the swallow enable the playwright to finish his work?

Answer: The playwright was feeling very cold and hungry. He could not finish his play. The prince asked the swallow to take one of his sapphires to the playwright. Thus they helped him to finish his work.

Q11. How did the prince help the match-girl? What was the result?

Answer: The prince sent the sapphire to the match-girl. She became very happy. She ran home laughing.

Q12. Why did the swallow decide not to leave the prince?

Answer: The prince had given the sapphires from his eyes to the poor. He was now completely blind. Therefore, the swallow decided to stay with him.

Q13. How did the prince and the swallow help the poor?

Answer: The swallow told the prince about the misery of the people. The prince asked the swallow to pluck gold and jewels from his body. He asked the swallow to give all these to the poor.

Q14. What did the angel consider ‘the two most precious things in the city’?

Answer: He considered the lead heart and the dead swallow the two most precious things in the city.

Q15. When the prince was alive, he did not know what tears were. Why?

Answer: The prince lived in a palace. No sorrow was allowed to enter there. The prince never had the taste of sorrow. So he did not know what tears were.

Q16. What made the playwright happy?

Answer: The playwright saw a sapphire lying near him on the table. He thought it had been sent by some great admirer. This made him happy.

Q17. Describe the sufferings of poor people in the city. How did the Happy Prince help them?

Answer: The poor people in the city lived a miserable life. There was a poor seamstress. She had nothing to give her son who was sick. So the Happy Prince sent a ruby for her. There was a playwright who had no firewood to keep himself warm. The prince sent him a sapphire. There was a match-girl who had no shoes or stockings. Her matches had fallen in the gutter. She was crying. The prince sent her his second sapphire. There were hungry and homeless children. The prince sent them all the gold leaves he had on his body.

Q18. What made the statue of the Happy Prince cry?

Answer: The statue of the Happy Prince was on a high pillar, He could see the sorrows and misery of people. He saw a seamstress. Her son was ill. But she had nothing to give her except the river water. This made the Happy Prince cry.

Q19. What was the last wish of the swallow?

Answer: The swallow knew that her end had come. He flew onto the shoulder of the Happy Prince and said, “wish to kiss your hand.” The Happy Prince asked him to kiss him on the lips. He kissed on his lips and then died.

Q20. Why do the courtiers call the prince ‘the Happy Prince’? Is he really happy? What does he see all around him?

Answer: The courtiers called the prince ‘the Happy Prince’ because he was always happy. When he was alive, he did not know what tears were for; he lived in a palace where sorrow was not allowed to enter. However, when he died and was made into a statue, he was not happy and tears flowed down his eyes on seeing the state of his city. He could see all the misery and ugliness of the city around him.

Q21. Why does the Happy Prince send a ruby for the seamstress? What does the swallow do in the seamstress’ house?

Answer: The Happy Prince sent a ruby for the seamstress as she was extremely poor and could not feed her child who was suffering from fever.

    The swallow picked out the ruby from the Happy Prince’s sword and flew to the seamstress’ house. On reaching the house he saw that the seamstress had fallen asleep because she was tired and the little boy was tossing feverishly on the bed. The swallow laid the ruby on the table and flew gently round the bed, fanning the boy’s forehead with his wings. The boy immediately felt cool, thought the fever must be improving and fell off to sleep.

Or, / অথবা,

    The Happy Prince sends his ruby though the little swallow for the seamstress who was very poor. Her son was sick and thirsty. She had no money to buy oranges for the little boy. The swallow lays the ruby on the table beside the woman's thimble. Then, he flies round the table and fans the sick boy's forehead with his wings.

Q22. For whom does the prince send the sapphires and why?

Answer: The Happy Prince sent the sapphires for two people: the young writer across the city and the matchgirl.

    The young writer was trying to finish a play for the Director of the Theatre. However, he was too cold to write anymore, there was no fire in the grate and hunger had made him faint. He sent the sapphire to the young playwright so that he could sell it to the jeweller, buy firewood, and finish his play. On seeing the sapphire, the young man felt appreciated and believed that he could finish his play.

    The Happy Prince then saw a little matchgirl who was standing in the square just below him. She had let her matches fall in the gutter because of which they were all spoiled. The prince knew that her father would beat her if she did not bring home some money. When the swallow slipped the jewel into the palm of the little girl’s hand, she ran home happy and laughing.

Or, / অথবা,

    The Prince sends the sapphires for the playwright who was tired and hungry. He was writing a play. But his poverty did not let him complete the work. He did not have money to buy food and firewood. He took pity on him and decided to help him by sending the sapphire.

Q23. What does the swallow see when it flies over the city?

Answer: When the swallow was flying over the city, it saw the rich making merry and the beggars sitting at the gates of the rich men’s houses. It flew into the dark lanes and saw the white faces of starving children. Under the archway of a bridge, it saw two little boys lying in each other’s arms trying to keep themselves warm in the rain. They were extremely hungry and on top of it, they were asked by the watchman to vacate the archway. The swallow went back and told the Prince about all it had seen.

Or, / অথবা,

    When the swallow flies over the city, he finds widespread poverty all around. The beggars were sitting at the gates of the rich. The starving children with white faces were lying in the dark lanes. He finds the rich making merry in their beautiful houses.

Q24. Why did the swallow not leave the prince and go to Egypt?

Answer: When the Happy Prince had given both his sapphire eyes to the needy, the swallow decided to stay with him as he was blind. It did not leave for Egypt even though the Prince urged him to. When the snow came, followed by frost, the little swallow grew colder and colder. However, it did not leave the Prince as it loved him very much. It fed itself on the crumbs outside the bakery and kept itself warm by flapping its wings. However, at last, it knew it was going to die. It flew to the Prince, said goodbye, and asked if it could kiss his hand. It kissed the Prince’s lips and fell down dead at its feet.

Or, / অথবা,

    The Happy Prince had become totally blind. The swallow was impressed with his charity and kindness. He had sacrificed everything for a good cause of helping the poor in their needs. The swallow loved the Prince and could not leave him in that state. He decided not to go to Egypt. He remained there till his last breath.

Q25. What are the precious things mentioned in the story? Why are they precious?

Answer: There are two precious things in the story: the Prince’s leaden heart and the dead swallow.

    They were both precious because they were kind and selfless. The Prince was sad as he saw so many people suffering in his city. He gave away his ruby, sapphires and all his gold to them. He did not think about himself for once. He was more concerned about the well-being of his people even though he was dead.

    The little swallow was precious because it showed kindness by carrying the Prince’s messages to the poor and deciding to stay back for the Prince when he was blind, though he knew that he would face difficulties in winter, which was fast approaching. It actively participated in helping the poor and needy in the city. The swallow was so precious that when it died and fell down at the Prince’s feet, the Prince’s leaden heart broke into two.

    When God asked one of his angels to bring him the two most precious things in the city, the angel brought him the leaden heart and the dead bird. God said that the little bird would forever sing in His garden of Paradise and the Happy Prince would praise Him in His city of gold.

Or, / অথবা,

    The two most precious things in the city were the leaden heart of the Happy Prince and the dead swallow. God considered them the most precious because they sacrificed their lives for the happiness of others.

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The Happy Prince Summary

    Once in a town there lived a prince. He was called the Happy Prince because he had been happy all his life. After his death, his statue was erected on a tall pedestal in the middle of the town. The statue was covered with gold and had two precious sapphire stones embedded in the eyes. A ruby stone had been fitted into the handle of his sword. From there, he could see all around the place and realized that the people lived in a lot of poverty and misery. This sight saddened the prince and being helpless, he would weep to see the plight of his people.

    One day a swallow bird was flying through the city, on its way to Egypt to meet its friends. On the way, it took shelter for the night at the feet of the statue of the happy prince. The bird realized that the statue was weeping and upon inquiry, realized the plight of the prince. The helpless prince requested the bird to help it by becoming its messenger. After initial refusal, the bird agreed and took the ruby stone out of the sword hilt and delivered it to a poor seamstress. The next morning, as he went to bid goodbye, the statue convinced him to stay back for one more day. That day, the bird was asked to remove the sapphire stone from one of the statue’s eyes and deliver it to a young playwright. Also, on the third day the bird had to pull out the second sapphire stone for a poor match girl. By this time, the weather had become cold and the bird had developed an attachment with the statue. The bird did not want to leave the statue which had now become blind. The happy prince asked the bird to go around the city and inform him the condition of the people living there. The bird told him that the rich were making merry while the poor lived in misery. As the happy prince did not have any more precious stones, he ordered the bird to remove the gold foils from his body and distribute among the living who needed money for survival. Gradually, the statue of the prince lost its covering of gold and became dull and grey. On the other hand, the poor became joyous as they got bread to eat. The swallow bird was now unable to withstand the cold weather and realized that death was approaching. It informed the statue that it had to leave and the statue, who loved the bird, asked it to kiss him. As the bird died and fell at the statue’s feet, a strange sound came out of the statue - the sound of the breaking of its heart. Although the statue’s heart was made of lead, it broke as it was overwhelmed with affection towards the bird. When the statue was melted in the furnace, the heart did not melt and was thrown in the garbage. It landed near the swallow’s body. God’s angels took both the dead swallow and the broken heart to him as they were the most precious things on land.

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