Summary

The short story “The Happy Prince” by Oscar Wilde opens with the description of a beautifully decorated statue known as The Happy Prince. The Town Councilors, as well as others admire the statue for its beauty. 

A Swallow arrives to the city on its way to Egypt. He delayed his trip for a while because he fell in love with a Reed. However, he eventually decided to move on. The Swallow spends the night at the feet of the statue, and realizes that the Happy Prince is crying. 

The Prince tells the Swallow he used to be happy when he was alive, but now that he sees from his high place all the ugliness and misery in the city, he feels sad. He asks the Swallow to take the ruby from his sword hilt to a sick child so that his mother can buy him oranges. The Swallow eventually agrees.

When the Swallow retu...