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one of the sapphires to the writer. The swallow did not want to
pluck out the sapphire from his eyes, but he obeyed him
unwillingly. After that the Happy Prince saw a match girl and her
matches fall into the gutter. At his command the swallow very
unwillingly plucked out the sapphire from the other eye of the
Happy Prince and now the Prince was totally blind. The swallow
slipped the sapphire into the palm of the match girl. Then the
Happy Prince allowed the swallow to fly away to Egypt, but the
swallow decided to stay with the blind Prince forever. The swallow
reported about the sufferings of the starving people. At the
command of the Happy Prince the swallow took of the golden
leaves from the statue and distributed them among the poor
people.

Now the statue was dull and grey. The frost made the swallow
colder and colder and he was about to die. He flew to the Happy
Prince who bade him kiss him on the lips. The swallow fell down
die at the feet of the statue. The lead heart of the Prince broke into
two. The Mayor ordered that the statue should be pulled down
because it was neither beautiful now useful. The broken heart did
not melt in the furnace. It was thrown away on a dust heap where
the dead swallow was also lying.

God asked the angels to bring the two most precious things in the
city. God praised the angel's choice in bringing him the leaden
heart of the Happy Prince and the dead swallow.

NCERT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q 1.Why do the courtiers call the prince „the Happy Prince‟? Is he
really happy? What does he see all around him?
Answer:
He was a prince when he was alive. Being a prince he never knew

sorrow and suffering. So, the courtiers called him „the happy
prince‟. But he was not happy in real sense as his heart could feel
the misery of needy people. He saw the miserable conditions of
people around him.

Q 2.Why does the Happy Prince send a ruby for the seamstress?
What does the swallow do in the seamstress‟ house?
Answer:
The seamstress was tired due to overwork. She was so poor that
she could not buy oranges for her little sick son. Her son was