THE HAPPY PRINCE
High above the city, on a column, stood the statue of the Happy Prince. He was covered with fine gold leaves, had two bright sapphires for his eyes, and a large red ruby on his sword hilt. He was very much admired.
“He is beautiful,” said a town councillor.
“Why can’t you be like the Happy Prince? He never cries,” a mother asked her little boy.
“He looks like an angel,” said the school children.
One night, a little swallow flew over the city on its way to Egypt. “Where shall I sleep?” he wondered. Then he saw the statue. “I’ll stay here,” he cried. “It is a fine position. I will have a golden bedroom.”
He landed between the feet of the Happy Prince, but just as he was putting
