High above the city, on a tall column, stood the statue of the Happy Prince. He was covered in thin layers of gold, had two sparkling sapphires for eyes, and a large red ruby on the hilt of his sword. Everyone admired him. One night, a lonely little Swallow flew over the city. Her friends had gone to Egypt, but she stayed behind. 'I will sleep here,' she said, seeing the statue, and settled between the Prince's feet.
Just as she was about to sleep, a big drop of water fell on her. Then another. The Swallow looked up and saw that the Happy Prince's eyes were filled with tears. 'Who are you?' she asked. 'I am the Happy Prince,' the statue replied. 'When I was alive and had a human heart, I did not know tears, for I lived in the Palace of Carefree Joy. But now that I am dead, they have placed me up here so high that I can see all the ugliness and misery of my city.'
'Far away,' said the Prince, 'I see a poor house. A woman is sewing a dress for the queen, but her little boy is sick and has a fever. Little Swallow, will you take the ruby from the hilt of my sword to her?' The Swallow plucked the great ruby and flew over the rooftops. She entered the room and placed the ruby on the table. Then she gently fanned the boy's forehead with her wings. 'How cool I feel,' said the little boy, and he fell asleep.
The next day, the Prince said, 'Little Swallow, far away I see a young writer in an attic. He is so cold that he cannot write, and hunger weakens him. My eyes are rare sapphires brought from India. Take one out and give it to him.' The Swallow cried, but she obeyed. The young man found the jewel among the dried violets and shouted with joy, 'Now I can finish my work!'
The next day, the Prince said, 'In the square, there is a little girl selling matches. They have fallen in the mud, and her father will beat her if she doesn't bring money home. Take out my other eye and give it to her.' 'I cannot take out your other eye!' cried the Swallow, 'You will be blind!' 'Do as I ask,' said the Prince gently. So the Swallow took out the eye and placed it in the girl's hand, who ran home laughing.
The Swallow returned to the Prince. 'Now you are blind,' she said. 'So, I will not go to Egypt. I will stay with you forever.' And she slept at the Prince's feet. The next day she perched on his shoulder and told him stories of what she had seen in faraway lands, of the red ibises and the ancient sphinxes.
'Dear Swallow,' said the Prince, 'you tell me wonderful things, but more wonderful is the suffering of men and women. Fly over my city and tell me what you see.' The Swallow saw the rich feasting while the beggars sat at their doors. She returned and told the Prince. 'I am covered in fine gold,' he said. 'Take it off leaf by leaf and give it to my poor.'
Leaf by leaf, the Swallow took off the gold until the Happy Prince was dull and gray. But the faces of the children in the streets grew rosy and they laughed as they played. Then the snow came, and then the frost. The poor Swallow grew colder and colder, but she did not want to leave the Prince; she loved him too much.
Knowing she was going to die, the Swallow gathered her strength and flew to the Prince's shoulder. 'Goodbye, dear Prince,' she murmured, 'may I kiss your hand?' 'I am glad you are finally going to Egypt,' he said. 'It is not to Egypt that I go,' she said, 'I am going to the House of Death.' She kissed him on the lips and fell dead at his feet. At that moment, a strange crack sounded inside the statue: the leaden heart had broken in two.
The next morning, the Mayor saw the statue. 'How shabby the Happy Prince looks!' he said. 'And there is a dead bird at his feet.' They decided to melt the statue in a furnace, but the broken lead heart would not melt, so they threw it on a heap of rubbish where the dead Swallow lay. And God said to one of his angels, 'Bring me the two most precious things in the city.' And the angel brought him the leaden heart and the dead bird.
