"The Happy Prince" By Oscar Wilde
"The Happy Prince" is a short story written by Oscar Wilde. It is about a statue of a happy prince who was once alive but is now a statue in a city square. The statue is covered in gold leaf and has precious stones for eyes. The happy prince is not actually happy, however, because he can see the poverty and suffering of the people in the city below.
One day, a swallow flies into the city and stops to rest on the statue. The happy prince speaks to the swallow and asks him to take the precious stones from his eyes and give them to the poor. The swallow agrees and begins to take the jewels and give them to the poor and the sick.
As the swallow continues to help the people of the city, the statue of the happy prince becomes less and less adorned. Eventually, all of the gold leaf is gone and the statue is just a plain metal statue.
The swallow, who has grown to love the happy prince, stays with him until the winter comes. When the cold weather arrives, the swallow knows that he must fly south or he will die. The happy prince tells the swallow that he should go, but the swallow does not want to leave him. The happy prince tells the swallow that even though he is just a statue, he is still happy because he has been able to help the people of the city through the swallow's actions.
The swallow flies south, but soon becomes ill and dies. The angels find the swallow's body and take it to the feet of the happy prince. The happy prince tells the angels to give the swallow's red breast a kiss, and it turns into a gold statue.
The story concludes by saying that the people in the city removed the happy prince statue and melted it down for bullets in the war. But the small statue of the swallow is still there. The moral of the story is that true beauty lies in serving others.
✓The Short Stories by Oscar Wilde amzn.to/3zc3VAR