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PART ONE
The Ruby
On a tall column in the city there is a statue of the Happy Prince. He is
covered with gold. He has two blue sapphires for eyes. On his sword there is a
big red ruby. He is very beautiful.
Everyone in the city likes the statue of the Happy Prince.
'Look at the Happy Prince,' says a mother to her little boy. 'He never cries.
He is always happy.'
One night a little Swallow flies over the city. His friends are in Egypt and he
wants to go there too. He sees the statue on the tall column.
'Oh, what a beautiful statue! I have a golden bedroom. I can sleep here, near
the Prince's feet,' he says to himself. He puts his head under his wing. Suddenly a
big drop of water falls on him. Then another drop falls.
'How strange! There aren't any clouds in the sky. But it's raining!'
Another drop falls and the Swallow looks up. The Happy Prince is crying.
There are tears on his golden face. His face is very beautiful. The little Swallow
is sad.
'Who are you?' he asks.
'I am the Happy Prince.'
'Why are you crying?' asks the Swallow.
'The people in the city call me the Happy Prince. In the castle I was happy.
Everything there was beautiful. But now I am on this high column and I can see
all the misery of my city.
My heart is made of metal but I cry.
'Look over there! There is a poor house. One of the windows is open. I can
see a woman. She is very poor. There is a boy in bed. He is not well. He wants
some oranges. His mother has nothing to give him except water. He is crying.
Swallow, little Swallow, can you take her the ruby from my sword?'
'I must go to Egypt,' says the Swallow. 'My friends are there. They fly up
and down the Nile river. They talk to the flowers. They sleep in the tomb of the
great King.'
'Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,' says the Prince, 'can you stay with me
for one night and be my messenger? The boy is very ill and his mother is very
sad.'
The Happy Prince is sad. The little Swallow is sorry. 'It is very cold here,' he
says, 'but I can stay with you for one night and be your messenger.'
'Thank you, little Swallow,' says the Prince.
The little Swallow takes out the red ruby from the Prince's sword. Then he
flies away with the ruby. He flies over the houses of the city. He passes by the
church and sees statues of white angels. He passes by the palace and hears lovely
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music. He flies over the river and sees the ships. At last he comes to the poor
house and looks inside. The sick boy is in bed and his mother is sleeping.
The little Swallow puts the ruby on the table.
Then he flies back to the Happy Prince and says, 'The night is cold, but I am
warm now.'
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PART TWO
The Sapphire
The next day the little Swallow has a bath in the river. There is a professor
walking over the bridge. 'What a strange thing. A swallow in winter,' says the
professor. 'Tonight I go to Egypt,' says the Swallow. So he visits the public
monuments of the city. When the other winter birds see him they are surprised
and say, 'What a beautiful bird!' This makes the little Swallow very happy.
In the evening the Swallow looks at the Happy Prince and says, 'I am going
to Egypt.'
'Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,' says the Prince, 'can you stay with me
another night?'
'My friends are waiting for me in Egypt. Tomorrow, they are flying up the
river.
They are visiting the statue of the god Memnon. At midday the yellow lions
go to the water and drink. They have big green eyes and a terrible roar.'
'Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,' says the Prince, 'I can see a young man
in an attic. He is a writer. He can't write because he is too cold and hungry.'
'Well, I can stay with you another night,' says the Swallow. 'Must I take him
another ruby?'
'I haven't got a ruby,' says the Prince. 'I only have my eyes. They are made of
blue sapphires. Take one of the sapphires to him. He can sell it and buy food and
firewood. Then he can finish his book.'
'Dear Prince,' says the Swallow, 'I can't do that.' The Swallow begins to cry.
'Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,' says the Prince, 'do as I say.'
So the Swallow takes out the Prince's eye and flies to the writer's attic. When
the writer sees the sapphire on his desk, he is very happy. 'Now I can finish my
book!' says the young man.
The next day the little Swallow flies to the port. He looks at all the ships. In
the evening he returns to the Happy Prince.
'I am here to say goodbye,' he says. 'I am going to Egypt!'
'Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,' says the Prince. 'Can you stay with me
another night?'
'It is winter and it is cold here. In Egypt the sun is warm. My friends are
making a nest. Dear Prince, I must leave you. Next spring I can bring you a ruby
and a sapphire.'
'In the street below,' says the Happy Prince, 'there is a little match girl. Look,
her matches are falling in a puddle of water! Now she can't sell them. She is
crying. She is poor and has no shoes. Take my other eye and give it to her.'
'I can stay with you another night,' says the Swallow. 'But I can't take out
your other eye, because then you can't see.'
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'Swallow, Swallow, little Swallow,' says the Prince, 'do as I say.'
So the Swallow takes out the Prince's other eye. He flies to the little match
girl and puts the sapphire in her hand.
'What a lovely piece of glass!' says the little girl. She laughs and runs home.
The Swallow returns to the Prince. 'You can't see now. I want to stay with
you always.'
'No, little Swallow,' says the poor Prince. 'You must go to Egypt.'
'I want to stay with you always,' says the Swallow.
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PART THREE
The Broken Heart
The next day the Swallow tells the Prince stories about strange places. 'In
Egypt there are red birds called ibises. They stand by the river Nile and catch
fish. There is a Sphinx, too. It is very old and lives in the desert. It knows
everything. There is a big green snake. It sleeps in a palm tree.'
'Dear little Swallow,' says the Prince, 'you tell me about marvelous things.
But misery is the biggest mystery. Fly over the city and tell me what you see.'
So the little Swallow flies over the city. He sees rich people in beautiful
houses. He sees poor people in dark streets. He sees hungry children with white
faces. They are very cold. He flies back to the Prince and tells him everything.
'I am covered with gold,' says the Prince. 'You must take it off. Then we can
give the gold to the poor.'
The Swallow takes off the gold, leaf by leaf. He takes it to the poor. Now the
Prince looks dull and grey. The children's faces are happy. They laugh and play
in the streets.
'We've got bread now!' they say.
It is winter and it is very cold. There are some little boys skating on the ice.
They are wearing red caps.
The poor little Swallow is very cold. He does not want to leave the Prince.
He loves him very much.
'Goodbye, dear Prince. I am dying,' says the poor little Swallow. He kisses
the Happy Prince and dies near his feet.
At that moment there is a strange noise inside the statue. The Prince's metal
heart is breaking. It is certainly very cold.
The next morning the Mayor of the city looks at the statue.
'Dear me! The Prince looks very ugly!'
'Yes! He looks very bad,' say the Mayor's friends. They always agree with
the Mayor.
'There is a dead bird near his feet! Birds must not die here!'
So they pull down the statue of the Happy Prince. They melt the statue in a
furnace. But the broken heart does not melt.
'How strange!' says a worker. 'The broken heart does not melt in the furnace.
We must throw it away.'
The worker takes the broken heart and puts it near the dead Swallow.
'Bring me the two most precious things in the city,' says God to his angel.
The angel brings him the broken heart and the dead bird.
'Very well!' says God. 'In my garden of Paradise this little bird can sing and
the Happy Prince can live forever.'
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PART THREE
White Blossoms
At twelve o'clock people go to the market. They see the Giant playing with
the children in the beautiful garden.
The children play all day. In the evening they say goodbye to the Giant.
'Where is the little boy?' asks the Giant.
'We don't know,' answer the children.
'You must tell him to come tomorrow,' says the Giant.
'We don't know where he lives,' say the children.
The Giant is very sad and says, 'He is my little friend and I want to see him.'
Every afternoon, after school, the children play with the Giant. The Giant is
very kind to the children. But he wants to see his first little friend. 'Where is he?'
he says to himself.
Many years pass and the Giant grows old. He can't play with the children.
So he sits in an enormous armchair and watches the children play. He looks at his
garden and says, 'I have many beautiful flowers, but the children are the most
beautiful flowers of all.'
One winter morning the Giant looks out of his window. He does not hate the
Winter now. He knows that the Spring is sleeping and that the flowers are
resting.
Suddenly, he sees something marvelous. He looks and looks. He is very
surprised. In a corner of the garden there is a tree with lovely white blossoms. Its
branches are golden and there is silver fruit on them. Under this tree there is a
little boy. It is the Giant's little friend.
The Giant runs to the garden. He is very happy. He runs across the green
grass and goes to the child. When he is near the child he becomes angry. He says,
'What are these wounds?'
There are the marks of two nails on the child's hands and feet.
'What are these wounds?' says the Giant.
'These are the wounds of Love,' says the child.
'Who are you?' asks the Giant. The Giant has a strange sensation. He kneels
in front of the little child.
The child smiles at the Giant and says, 'You let me play in your garden.
Today you can come with me to my garden. It is Paradise.'
When the children come to the garden they find the Giant dead under a tree.
He is covered with white blossoms.
- THE END -