The Happy Prince NCERT Solutions, Summary & Word Meanings Class 9 PDF
Subject: English (Moments) | Chapter: 5 | Author: Oscar Wilde
📥 Download Notes PDF 📢 Join Telegram📖 Chapter Summary: The Happy Prince
"The Happy Prince" is a beautiful and touching story by Oscar Wilde. It is about a magnificent statue of a Prince that stood on a tall column high above the city. The statue was covered in fine gold leaves, had two bright sapphires for eyes, and a large red ruby glowing on its sword hilt. When the Prince was alive, he lived in a palace where sorrow was not allowed to enter, so his courtiers called him the "Happy Prince." However, after his death, his statue was placed so high that he could see all the ugliness and misery of his city, which made his leaden heart weep.
One night, a little Swallow, who was flying to Egypt to join his friends for the winter, stopped to rest between the feet of the Happy Prince. He felt drops of water falling on him and realized the statue was crying. The Prince pleaded with the Swallow to become his messenger and help the poor.
First, the Prince asked the bird to take the ruby from his sword and give it to a poor seamstress whose little boy was sick with a fever. The next night, he asked the Swallow to pluck out one of his sapphire eyes and give it to a struggling young playwright who was too cold and hungry to finish his play. The following night, the Prince sacrificed his other sapphire eye for a poor little matchgirl whose matches had fallen in the gutter.
Now completely blind, the Prince could not see. The Swallow, deeply moved by the Prince's kindness, decided to stay with him forever instead of going to Egypt. The bird flew over the city, reporting the miseries of the poor to the Prince. On the Prince's orders, the Swallow plucked off all the fine gold leaves from his body, leaf by leaf, and gave them to the starving poor.
When the harsh winter arrived, the poor little Swallow died of the cold at the Prince's feet. At that exact moment, the Prince's leaden heart snapped in two. The next day, the Mayor, seeing the statue looking shabby and stripped of its jewels, ordered it to be melted down. Surprisingly, the broken lead heart would not melt in the furnace, so it was thrown on a dust heap next to the dead Swallow.
In heaven, God asked one of His Angels to bring Him the two most precious things in the city. The Angel brought the leaden heart and the dead bird. God praised the Angel, declaring that the little bird would sing forever in His garden of Paradise, and the Happy Prince would praise Him in His city of gold.
📚 Part 1: NCERT Solutions (Textbook Questions)
Q1: Why do the courtiers call the prince 'the Happy Prince'? Is he really happy? What does he see all around him?
Ans: When the Prince was alive, he lived in the Palace of Sans-Souci, where sorrow was not allowed to enter. He played all day and danced all night, completely unaware of the tears and miseries of the outside world. Hence, his courtiers called him the "Happy Prince."
No, he is not happy anymore. After his death, his statue was placed high above the city, allowing him to see all the ugliness, poverty, and misery of his people, which makes him weep continuously.
Q2: Why does the Happy Prince send a ruby for the seamstress? What does the swallow do in the seamstress’ house?
Ans: The Prince sends a ruby for the poor seamstress because her little boy was sick with a fever and asking for oranges, but she had nothing to give him except river water.
The swallow flies to her house, drops the great ruby on the table beside the woman's thimble, and gently fans the sick boy's forehead with its wings to cool him down, making the boy fall into a peaceful sleep.
Q3: For whom does the prince send the sapphires and why?
Ans: The Prince sends his two sapphire eyes to two different people:
1. The Young Playwright: He sends the first sapphire to a struggling writer who is trying to finish a play for the Director of the Theatre but is too cold to write and fainting from hunger.
2. The Matchgirl: He sends the second sapphire to a little matchgirl whose matches had fallen in the gutter and spoiled. Her father would beat her if she went home without any money.
Q4: What does the swallow see when it flies over the city?
Ans: When the swallow flies over the city, it sees a stark contrast between the rich and the poor. It sees the rich making merry in their beautiful houses, while beggars sit at the gates. It flies into dark lanes and sees the white faces of starving children looking out listlessly at the black streets. It also sees two little boys lying in each other's arms under a bridge trying to keep warm, before being chased away by a watchman.
Q5: Why did the swallow not leave the prince and go to Egypt?
Ans: Initially, the swallow wanted to go to Egypt to join his friends and enjoy the warm weather. However, after the Prince gave away his second sapphire eye for the matchgirl, he became completely blind. Touched by the Prince's immense kindness, sacrifice, and helplessness, the swallow developed a deep love for him and decided to stay with him forever to be his eyes.
Q6: What are the precious things mentioned in the story? Why are they precious?
Ans: The two most precious things mentioned in the story are the leaden heart of the Happy Prince and the dead swallow.
They are precious to God because they represent supreme love, self-sacrifice, and charity. The Prince gave away all his wealth and his eyes for the poor, and his heart broke out of sorrow for the dead bird. The swallow sacrificed its trip to Egypt and ultimately its life to help the Prince serve humanity. True compassion makes them the most precious things in the world.
⚡ Part 2: Extra Practice Questions
Q7: What happened to the statue of the Happy Prince at the end of the story?
Ans: At the end of the story, the Mayor and the Town Councillors found the statue looking shabby, without its gold, ruby, or sapphires. Declaring it useless and ugly, they pulled it down and melted it in a furnace to make a new statue of the Mayor himself.
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Q: What strange thing happened when the statue of the Happy Prince was melted in the furnace?
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🔤 Important Word Meanings
- 1. Gilded (adj): Covered thinly with gold leaf or gold paint (Sone ki parat chadhi hui).
- 2. Sapphire (n): A precious gem, typically blue in color (Neelam).
- 3. Seamstress (n): A woman who makes a living by sewing clothes (Darzin).
- 4. Thimble (n): A small metal or plastic cap worn to protect the finger while sewing.
- 5. Garret (n): A top-floor or attic room, usually small and dismal (Chhat par bana chhota kamra).
- 6. Leaden (adj): Made of lead, a heavy base metal (Seese/Lead ka bana hua).
- 7. Shabby (adj): In poor condition through long use or lack of care (Khasta-haal / Fata-purana).