Question 1:
Why do the courtiers call the prince ‘the Happy Prince’ ? Is he really happy ? What does he see all around him ?
Answer:
While the prince was alive, he lived in his palace. No sorrow was allowed to enter there. The
prince
was always happy. He did not know what sorrow is. So the courtiers called him the Happy
Prince.
But after his death, his statue was put on a high pedestal. Now he could see the misery of
poor people
all around. It made him very sad.
Question 2:
Why does the Happy Prince send a ruby for the seamstress ? What does the swallow do in the seamstress’ house ?
Answer:
The Happy Prince sees that the poor woman’s son is ill. The boy is asking for oranges. But the poor woman has no money. So the Happy Prince sends a ruby for her. The swallow puts the ruby on a table. He fans the boy’s forehead with his wings. The boy feels great relief. He goes into a sweet sleep.
Question 3:
For whom does the prince send the sapphires and why ?
Answer:
The prince sends one sapphire for a playwright. He sends the other for a poor match-girl. The
playwright
has no firewood to warm himself. The match-girl’s matches have fallen into a gutter. She is
crying.
The prince wants to help both of them. So he sends his sapphires for them.
Question 4:
What does the swallow see when it flies over the city ?
Answer:
The swallow sees the rich making merry in their beautiful houses. Beggars are sitting at
their gates.
In the dark lanes, there are poor children. They are hungry and their faces are white. Two
little boys
are lying under a bridge. They are lying in each other’s arms to keep themselves warm. A
watchman
drives them away from there.
Question 5:
Why did the swallow not leave the prince and go to Egypt ?
Answer:
The prince had given the two sapphires of his eyes for the poor. Now he was completely blind. The swallow had a kind heart. He could not leave the prince in that state.
Question 6:
What are the two precious things mentioned in the story ? Why are they precious ?
Answer:
The two precious things are the leaden heart of the prince and the dead swallow. They are precious because they have loving hearts. The prince gives his all for the poor. The swallow sacrifices his life for the sake of the prince. There is no selfishness in their love.
Question 7:
Describe the statue of the Happy Prince.
Answer:
The statue was covered with thin leaves of fine gold. It had two bright sapphires for its eyes. There was a large red ruby on its sword-hilt.
Question 8:
What made the Happy Prince cry ?
Answer:
The Happy Prince could see all the misery of the city. He cried on seeing the sorrows of the poor people.
Question 9:
To whom did the prince send his ruby and why ?
Answer:
The prince sent his ruby to a poor seamstress. Her son was ill. He was asking for oranges. But his mother had no money. So the prince wanted to help her.
Question 10:
How did the prince and the swallow enable the playwright to finish his work ?
Answer:
The playwright was feeling very cold and hungry. He could not finish his play. The prince asked the swallow to take one of his sapphires to the playwright. Thus they helped him to finish his work.
Question 11:
How did the prince help the match-girl ? What was the result ?
Answer:
The prince sent the sapphire to the match-girl. She became very happy. She ran home laughing.
Question 12:
Why did the swallow decide not to leave the prince ?
Answer:
The prince had given the sapphires from his eyes to the poor. He was now completely blind. Therefore, the swallow decided to stay with him.
Question 13:
How did the prince and the swallow help the poor ?
Answer:
The swallow told the prince about the misery of the people. The prince asked the swallow to pluck gold and jewels from his body. He asked the swallow to give all these to the poor.
Question 14:
What did the angels consider ‘the two most precious things in the city’ ?
Answer:
They considered the leaden heart and the dead swallow the two most precious things. The angels brought these to God.
Question 15:
When the prince was alive, he did not know what tears were. Why ?
Answer:
The prince lived in a palace. No sorrow was allowed to enter there. The prince never had the taste of sorrow. So he did not know what tears were.
Question 16:
What was the boy’s mother doing when the swallow flew into the room ? Where did he put the ruby ? Why did the boy feel cool ?
Answer:
The boy’s mother had fallen asleep. The swallow put the ruby on a table near the woman. He fanned the boy with his wings. The boy now felt cool.
Question 17:
What made the playwright happy ?
Answer:
The playwright saw a sapphire lying near him on the table. He thought it had been sent by some great admirer. This made him happy.
Question 18:
Give a brief character-sketch of the Happy Prince.
Answer:
The Happy Prince saw the misery of the poor people. His heart melted with pity for them.
Their
sufferings brought tears in his eyes. He gave away his ruby, sapphires and all the gold for
the poor.
He became blind. His body looked ugly. But he was happy at heart because he had given away
his
all for the poor. The Happy Prince came to know that real happiness lay in the service of
the poor.
God blessed him and kept him in His city of gold.
Question 19:
Give a brief character-sketch of the swallow.
Answer:
The swallow was every inch like the Happy Prince. It had a very kind heart. It saw tears in the prince’s eyes. Its heart melted with pity. It wanted to help the prince. Therefore, it gave up its idea of going to Egypt. It stayed with the prince in cold nights. When the prince became blind, the swallow decided to live with him for ever. It died one day. But even the death could not separate it from the prince. It was taken to heaven along with the prince.
Question 20:
How did the little swallow carry out the wishes of the Happy Prince ?
Answer:
The statue of the Happy Prince had been put up on a high pedestal. He could see the misery of people all around. It made him very sad. He saw a poor woman whose little son was lying ill. The Prince asked the swallow to pick out the ruby from his sword and take it to the poor woman. The swallow did as the Prince desired. Then the Prince saw a poor young man who had no money to buy firewood. The Prince asked the swallow to pick out a sapphire from one of his eyes and take it to the young man. The swallow did as the Prince desired. Then the Prince saw a poor match-girl. He asked the swallow to take out the other sapphire from his eye and take it to the poor girl. The swallow did as the Prince desired. The statue of the Happy Prince was covered with fine gold. He asked the swallow to take it off leaf by leaf, and give it to the poor. The swallow did as the Prince desired. Thus the little swallow carried out all the wishes of the Happy Prince.
Question 21:
Why were the leaden heart and the dead bird the two most precious things in the city ?
Or
The Happy Prince was a statue, yet it had the warmth of a living heart and tears in its eyes. Mention its humane qualities that attracted the swallow towards it. Write in 80–100 words
Answer:
The leaden heart of the Happy Prince was full of sympathy for the poor. The Prince gave away all he had for the poor. And the little bird swallow obeyed all the commands of the Happy Prince. It was so moved by his nobility that it refused to leave him. Due to the bitter cold, it fell down dead at his feet. If love is the most precious thing of the world, the leaden heart and the dead bird were truly the most precious things in the city.
Question 22:
When the swallow died what was the unusual thing that happened ?
Answer:
When the swallow died, a curious crack was heard inside the statue. It was as if something had broken. The leaden heart inside the statue had snapped right in two. The death of the swallow was such a big shock for the Happy Prince that even the leaden heart in his statue broke into two pieces.